StarFox 7: Reflections of Marcus McCloud
by Kit-Karamak
Summary: Chapter 28, The Locust make contact with our heroes. Marcus and Fara make an important announcement to the crew. The invasion begins! - this story picks up where A New Generation leaves off, with Fox and Krystal coming out of retirement.
1. Prologue & Welcome Home

REFLECTIONS

OF

MARCUS McCLOUD

Sequel to Reflections of a New Generation

May 2008

For the sake of keeping the header clean, I've moved the Foreword to the END of this chapter.  
However, **I begin** this story **with** a **short recap** of the entire **last story** in a nutshell.  
If you're unfamiliar with Reflections of a New Generation, read the recap. If not, skip down to where this story begins!

Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: _The Star Fox and Star Wing franchise is a copyright and trademark IP belonging to Nintendo. This story is written without the franchise license and the characters, likenesses, places and objects are used without permission for entertainment purposes.  
__PLEASE __feel free__ to post this story anywhere on the internet. You may do so __without__ my permission but please, if it's not too much to ask, include the disclaimer and my name. You may remove the author's notes if you like. All original characters and plot lines are the creation of Ken Weaver – none of which are copyrighted. Feel free to use these characters or the original plot lines in your stories if you wish.  
__Jack Thunder's cameo is used with permission from his creator. Bliss and Crimson O'Donnell are used with permission from Marge "Nicky McCloud" Lambert. Fara Phoenix belongs to Ben Itoh in conjunction to Nintendo Power magazine and is used without permission for non-saleable entertainment purposes only. _

* * *

**A quick recap of what happened in the last story:**

Six and a half years ago, Marcus 'Star' McCloud was a sixteen year old aspiring pilot on summer vacation before his senior year at the academy. He was visiting his parents' ship, the GreatFox Flying Fortress. During a routine ship separation, the team was on the Cruiser while Lucy Hare was on the Carrier. Andross Oikonny attacked without warning and the cruiser section was evacuated. Peppy and Marcus took an escape pod but watched in horror as a gravity bomb swallowed the carrier and the fighters belonging to Falco, Slippy, Fox and Krystal. All hands were assumed lost. Andross disappeared.

A few years later, Peppy Hare, the elderly roommate of Marcus McCloud, passed away in his sleep. At the funeral, Marcus met Bill Grey, a retired military tactician and fighter pilot – a childhood friend of his father. Marcus began running with a boy who ran away from home, named Crimson O'Donnell. They became inseparable and looked for ways to resurrect the legacy of their fathers… to become great mercenaries.

One day, Crimson talked Marcus into taking a bounty hunting mission on Sauria. Their target was Andrew Oikonny who lived out in the jungle, poisoning the rivers and killing the locals. The boys met a fennec vixen named Fara Phoenix who, unbeknownst to them, recently woke from suspended animation just a few years prior. Now a bit of a loner and only twenty-five years old, Fara was on Sauria attempting to solve the poison water problem on behalf of a science community who was afraid to travel that part of the jungle. The three met up and became fast friends only to stumble onto a bigger conspiracy involving Andrew.

They discover the wreckage of the GreatFox Cruiser; Fara and Crimson go dumpster diving - they use old parts from the Phoenix Transportation Shipyard on Sauria to replace necessary components on GreatFox. Ultimately, they get it flying with some slight help from local thugs.

Andrew flees the planet and heads to Venom, the three young pilots follow him. They lose his trail half-way across Lylat, but pull in at a seedy space port to get GreatFox in combat ready status. There, Marcus uses his telepathic powers to find information about Andrew. They meet with an exotic dancer named Sugar who tells them Andrew Oikonny was last spotted heading to Venom to kick off a Civil War between the lizards. The trio pursues him all the way to a reptilian metropolis just as the massive war is beginning. While there, Marcus runs across Dash Bowman who claims to be trying to assassinate Andrew Oikonny. Their mission dead-ends in retreat when Oikonny's forces crush the city. Fara and Marcus share some very slight romantic tension, something they initially did not intend to happen.

The new StarFox team regroups and heads back to friendlier skies, while looking for a means to make money so they can repair their ships and upgrade their gear. During this time, several high ranking Cornerian officials, including the General, wind up murdered in a bomb blast. Corneria is thrown into a state of panic and, having gone so many years at a state of peace, they seek a qualified military tactician. Bill Grey is called out of retirement and steps in as acting General. Once again, StarFox has close ties to a Cornerian wartime General. With Bill Grey as their meal ticket, they learn that one of his small headaches involves a disturbance on Fichina. The team offers to investigate for a paycheck and heads to the arctic planet right away.

What they find there changes Marcus' life forever. A shadowy evil parody of his own mother is terrorizing the masses, calling herself Kursed. Having arrived in this dimension by means of a Gravity Bomb in her own universe, she lashes out at the locals in anger. The trio of pilots work together in an attempt to subdue her and inadvertently run across Crimson's sister Bliss and Marcus' ex-girlfriend, Violet Lombardi. Kursed attempts to sway Marcus to join her as a Cerinian ally by telling him that Violet deceived him by hiding the fact that she bore a son for him. The situation deals irreparable damage to Marcus and Violet's relationship, which ends just as they were thinking of rekindling it. Violet says the baby is with her mother on Corneria. Despite being embarrassed and humiliated, she remains with the team in an attempt to work things out with Marcus. Meanwhile, Fara, Marcus and Crimson pull together and narrowly defeat Kursed.

Marcus, grief stricken by the fact that he killed his mother's doppelganger, is haunted with hope by her dying words. He learns that she was hurled across time and space to this dimension by a gravity bomb and wonders if that means his true parents were still alive somewhere. Overcome by grief, anguish, anxiety and physical exhaustion, he collapses into a coma.

The team takes him to Corneria and administers him to a hospital. When he awakens, he leaves the hospital without notifying the staff but not before having a hallucination. He meets a man who looks curiously like his maternal grandfather. The man tells him to leave the city immediately and disappears. Young McCloud heads in town to take care of legal affairs, change his first name from Star to Marcus and buy things for his infant son. He takes a cab out to the suburbs and walks the rest of the way to Violet's mother's house. Katt Monroe reacts with mixed emotions upon seeing him at her doorstep.

She begins to drive away with the baby but stops a block from her driveway. Marcus approaches her window and they talk for a moment but a local thug tries to start a fight with him for standing in the middle of the street. Katt, frustrated, leaves before Marcus can see his son for the first time. McCloud loses his temper and takes it out on the roughhouse rabble-rouser but half-way through their fight, a Venom stealth fighter flies overhead. Marcus senses the trouble and is alarmed.

Seconds later, a low-yield tactical nuclear warhead detonates over Corneria's capital city, wiping the downtown section off the map. Marcus flees the scene and heads down the road by foot. When he finally catches up to Katt's car, it's abandoned. Worried for their safety, he heads further into town just to make sure they weren't there.

A local pharmacist recognizes the young fox, now a local celebrity for his action son Fichina. The drugstore owner gives him potassium iodide to protect him from the effects of radioactive fallout. Marcus heads further downtown, finds a brilliant little girl named Jane Flowers and rescues her from a burning car. Together, they locate the bunker where Dash Bowman is meeting with newly appointed General Bill Grey.

Upon arrival at the bunker, Venom Forces are on the scene, trying to take out the remaining military command at gunpoint. On a commando rescue operation for her team leader, Fara Phoenix – wearing a bio-suit – levels the Venom attackers, surprising and exciting Marcus. Dash and Bill tell McCloud where he can find some pilots necessary to make a large enough team to take on Andrew's new Venom Imperial Alliance.

Violet and the O'Donnell twins help StarFox to rescue Theodore Beltino Toad, the son of Slippy Toad and a recent mission acquaintance of Bowman. Meanwhile, in the burned out remains of Fichina's capital dome, Vivian Hare, named after her maternal grandmother, leaves the bedside of retired commissioner Beltino Toad to take up arms. Soon after, she finds herself captured by Venom forces. Unbeknownst to her, they're searching for a power source that came from Kursed's ship. They round up all survivors, including Vivian, and put everyone into a holding pen, declaring a state of martial law.

A bellicose, bitter Panther Caruso, who is angry to hear of Kursed's death, goes to Fichina before StarFox can arrive. Thinking that they were responsible for the death of Krystal, his one-time ex-girlfriend, he rescues Vivian Hare to use as bait. When Marcus arrives to recruit her, Panther attacks Marcus one-on-one with the intent to kill him. However, Marcus is tired and surprisingly emotional during the confrontation and Panther takes pity, calling him a 'weak child'. He tells Marcus to grow up first, refusing to battle someone who currently has no fight in their heart. Panther temporarily disappears.

Vivian joins the team. Violet leaves StarFox when she fails her attempt at getting close to Marcus. She heads to Aquas and meets her mother and the baby. Shortly after that, Falco Lombardi returns to this dimension after being the first to successfully pilot his ship through a wormhole. His arrival gives Marcus incredible hope that he'll see his family again. Falco goes to see his wife, daughter and grandson on Aquas then returns to GreatFox, intent on helping Marcus defeat Venom's forces. He trains with the young team and quickly grows fond of them. Meanwhile, Fara Phoenix and Marcus McCloud continue to have increasing romantic tension grow between them.

It comes to light that Marcus has renewed legal documentation to assume ownership of the StarFox trademark franchise. He renews his personal bounty hunting license, renews his father's mercenary license under his own name then pays for the rights to use the team's name. Simultaneously, Fara talks to the board of directors that run her father's company. Using her sixty percent vote status, she persuades them to purchase Space Dynamics. The new business merger scores the whole team free ships and gear; the new conglomerate becomes StarFox's corporate sponsor. The two foxes begin to fall in love slowly but surely. Falco tells Marcus that he isn't upset about the falling out between the boy and his daughter. Lombardi reassures Marcus, reminding him that he is the falcon's godson and will do his best to help the team's situation. He even gives Marcus his blessing on getting close with Fara, much to everyone's surprise.

Fara and Marcus go on a mission to take Jane Flowers to Eladard. The little girl is on her deathbed from radiation sickness and Fara has the idea to put her into suspended animation to save her life. It becomes revealed that Fara Phoenix was actually a trained covert operations agent parading as a test pilot for Corneria in her youth. More romantic tension crops up between the two foxes.

Meanwhile, after a series of dangerous detours, the GreatFox CARRIER arrives in Lylat, having just come from the dimension ruined by Kursed. Everyone aboard is unconscious. StarFox is just finishing a mission to take down one of Venom's largest battleships and they discover that a bio-weapon was being built on Eladard. They rush back to the planet, now spread very thin and running low on resources. Fara and Marcus return the planet, intent on finding the bio weapon before the scientists there finish building it.

With the StarFox GreatFox Carrier (As seen in SF: Command and Reflections of Regret) adrift in Lylat, Venom retreats from Eladard, pulls back to defend their front line and fortify their position. Fara and Marcus begin an OFFICIAL relationship. StarFox rushes to the adrift GreatFox Carrier and they join the ships together, making the GreatFox Flying Fortress. They prepare to board the carrier and see their unconscious family when Crimson receives a distress call from his sister. He learns from her that Dash Bowman was behind EVERYTHING, including the massive attack on Corneria. The team recalls that Dash was friends with Theodore Toad, up to the point where he recommended the young amphibian to fly with StarFox. With that information, Corneria's government requests they surrender Slippy Toad's son as he is one of the few people capable of building a weapon like the one used against the capital city. They arrest him, leaving the thinly-spread team even further shorthanded.

Over the next few days, several members of the original StarFox team awaken. Fox and Krystal are shocked to learn they have a grandson and Fox struggles with the knowledge that his son is dating Fara Phoenix, who he thought to be dead all along. He even explains to Fara that the reason he was so skittish around women… and the reason he broke things off with Krystal at one point, was because he didn't want another lover to die under his command. Fara explains to him that she was mortally wounded doing a side-job for the Cornerian Government. Concerning their newfound love, the only person who rushes to Fara and Marcus' aid is Krystal McCloud. Her understanding and compassion helps to further deepen Marcus' relationship with Fara.

Meanwhile, Dash Bowman is arranging his cards. He obtains a rare shipment of radioactive ore necessary for making more bombs. Next, Dash arranges an alliance with the surviving Anglars and has them build a battle fleet beneath the Venom Sea, so that no one knows of its existence. He also steals the body of Kursed and rebuilds her into a bionic nightmare intent on having her crush Lylat. He creates another alliance with Andrew Oikonny, planning to backstab Andross' nephew. In the end, Bowman goes beneath the radar, leaving StarFox and Corneria to think Venom was defeated again.

Finally, Marcus and Crimson head to the Academy so Marcus can finish his final year and Crimson can start as a freshman. Crimson finds out that his roommate is Sugar, the exotic dancer from the seedy rundown information outpost. She decided to join the military after both the outpost and Corneria were attacked, just as thousands of others also signed up to serve. Marcus and Fara grow even closer. Fox, Krystal, Amanda and Slippy all retire. Theodore is cleared of any wrong doing by a Cornerian court and goes to live on the GreatFox with Falco, Vivian Hare and retired astrophysicist, Lucy Hare.

With political tension and wartime efforts going on, Fara begins training the future agents of a new covert operations group. One of her best students happens to be Violet Lombardi's new boyfriend, who has a traditional male chauvinist attitude. At the end, Dash Bowman awakens Kursed and makes her the General of his military operation.

This is where REFLECTIONS OF A NEW GENERATION leaves off… …And the new story begins.

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**STAR FOX**

**Reflections of Marcus McCloud**

By:

Ken Weaver

Aka

Kit-Karamak

PROLOGUE:

_Less than two weeks later…_

**The palmetto leaves swayed about, mostly bowed from the intense jungle humidity.** A gloved paw lifted, pushing them up and a pair of high definition digital binoculars found its way into the leafy gap. The bright high-noon sunlight reflected off the lenses, creating a glare. The flicker of light brought about the attention of a reptilian guard.

The Saurian Sharpclaw, armed with a venom pulse rifle, grumbled over the radio, tightly gripped in his other scaly hand. After reporting the disturbance, he approached the shimmer in the brush. He flanked to the left then used the barrel of his gun to nudge a branch aside. He kept his eyes on the binoculars still jutting through the bushes then thrust his weapon into the foliage and opened fire. The binoculars fell to the ground and he laughed in spite of himself. The lizard lifted his radio up and said, "Target has been dispatched."

"Confirmed," replied a voice on the other end. "Attempt to identify the body in your written report tonight. Command – out."

He hung his rifle over his shoulder and reached his hands into the bushes, pushing the gap wide. His eyes widened, seeing a broken branch with a burn mark on the mossy ground. "What in the world?" The low-ranking soldier turned back around only for his snout to meet something of excessive force. A silver-gloved fist met his right eye, rendering the guard unconscious. He slumped backwards as if in slow motion. Something grabbed his ankles and flipped his body head over heels, depositing his motionless form into the bushes. The lizard's right eye, too swollen to close, peered out through the gap in the foliage.

A silver-gloved paw reached for the binoculars on the ground besides his face. The intruder walked down the path – their metallic-looking boots crunched softly in the dirt. He saw a swaying blue tail flutter from left to right behind a pair of toned legs. Everything faded to black.

Fox McCloud, in his mid-fifties, stepped out of his hiding place and approached his wife. The orange-furred vulpine pilot patted her on the shoulder, where her vest clung to her shoulders. "Nice work, Krystal. That guy never saw it coming. How's your paw?"

The blue-furred vixen wiped the sweat from her brow with the backside of her wrist and huffed. "It stings. I'd forgotten how humid it is in this part of Sauria. Maybe if the tactical vest wasn't so heavy it wouldn't be so bad." She hooked the binoculars on her belt then gave a tug at the hem of her shorts. "It's like every inch of cloth sticks to your body."

"Last time you were here, you wore seashells and a piece of cloth wrapped around your waist. Be glad you've got a bulletproof vest this time around."

Krystal McCloud grinned at her husband and nudged him with her elbow. "You're _still_ overprotective. But admit it! You're having _fun_ aren't you?"

Fox offered her a dubious glare. "I only said _no_ because I was trying to prove to you that I could keep my word regarding retirement."

"I couldn't pass up the thought of making our last mission a team effort on Sauria. You know this place holds a lot of memories for me_._" She reached into her hip pack and withdrew a moist towel, no larger than a napkin. She leaned towards him and cleaned his face with it.

"Aren't those things meant for changing babies?" Fox scrunched his nose at his spouse then cocked a brow.

"They serve more than one purpose. They stay moist in the package – I bet you feel better now, don't you?"

He brought his paw behind his head and scratched the nape of his neck. "Y-yeah, I guess so. It _is_ pretty humid here, huh? Still, those things are meant for an infant's butt."

Krystal rolled her eyes. "It wouldn't be moist anymore if I used it on an infant's butt _before_ wiping the sweat from your facial fur. Men can be so weird." She elbowed him again then stuffed the little towelette into his vest pocket. "And _you_ can hold it until we find a trashcan."

Realizing his defeat in the matter, Fox sighed and nodded. "Thank you for babying me, sweetheart."

Krystal offered a stern look. "Wiping your face isn't _babying_ you, Fox McCloud. Next time, you can wipe your _own_ face." Their gaze locked and they glared at one another for a moment. She sensed an amusing thought on his mind and broke into giggles. "Not fair! You _never_ let me win a stare down!" She gave her mate a playful shove then folded her arms. "Don't be a sore loser."

"I don't mind losing to you," said Fox. "Because I still feel like I win. After all, I made you fall in love with me, didn't I? _Twice _if I recall right…"

Krystal's jaw dropped with a broad grin. "Oh, you rascal. You think you're all that, huh? Need I remind you that _I_ made _you_ get down on your knees and _beg_ my forgiveness? Don't forget – _I'm_ the winner here."

Fox shook his head and waggled his eyebrows to her. "No, I'm the winner here. I did what I had to do to _win_ you back. I won you over, you're mine, and that makes me the winner. I'd say _I_ got the better end of the deal – a beautiful wife who is sexy and throws a mean right hook. I make Cornerian men jealous, the whole world over."

Krystal's grin evolved into a rather feminine smile. "You're being sweet to me again… So that's what it takes to get you to be sweet to me? I've just got to knock out a lizard while you're watching?"

"I can't help but admit… it's sexy as hell when you flatten a lizard in one punch. I'm not going to lie – I'm impressed _and_ I'm turned on." Fox chuckled then hooked his finger in a belt loop and pulled her closer. "Remember when I used to be shy around you?"

Krystal nodded. "It was adorable, but I prefer how you are now that you're comfortable around me." She lifted her right paw and waved the gloved limb in front of him. "It still stings."

Fox laughed softly and brought his free paw to her forearm, guiding her glove-covered knuckles to his lips. "There, all better?"

"Maybe just a little," she replied with a coy smile. Suddenly her eyes widened and she thrust her right paw out across his chest and came to a stop. "Hold up – there are more enemies in the area. I think they're a surveillance team." She tilted her head to the left then pitched her head forward a bit. "Wait…" She closed her eyes. "They're converging on…" She lifted her chin somewhat then said, "This way, try to keep up." She broke off into a sprint, darting off the trail and into the thick jungle.

Fox, whose finger slipped from her belt loop, hurried after her. "When we get back to port, I want to _enjoy_ a little time on the ocean-liner… if it's still docked at Cape Claw – heck we've probably been left behind by now!"

Krystal projected an unspoken telepathic message into his brain. "Shh, we're close now!"

Disoriented from the sensation of her voice being forced into his mind, McCloud blinked away the strange sensation then ducked beneath a branch, still hurrying through the thick jungle. He followed the trail of her scent, trying to catch up. He shoved another branch out of his way then suddenly collided with her backside. The two stumbled then quickly knelt to recover from the collision while attempting to remain out of sight. Fox lifted his head, peering over her hip at a stone fortress out in the clearing. After a moment of repose, he whispered, "Where are the bogies?"

"They're close – I can't tell if they're inside that thing or if they're on the other side. I don't sense anyone else in the area." She turned to him and cupped his face, sensing his disorientation. "Sorry, I'm still practicing that ability. I know it can seem overpowering to force my presence into your mind."

He shook his head a bit to clear his mind. "I'm just a little dazed. Just because that _thing_ could do it, doesn't mean you need to learn or use it."

Krystal glared at him. "I just wanted to see if I was capable of the same things – it's mentally draining but it was better than raising my voice at you. Listen," she looked around furtively then continued in the hushed tone. "I think there's a teleportation pad in that building. I'm not entirely sure, but one of the lizards in command seems to think it's a gateway to the Force-point Temple."

Fox quirked a brow at her. "So? We both know dinosaurs can't teleport with those. It doesn't recognize cold blooded creatures."

A paw lifted. She withdrew the glove from her right then she took the left one and handed them over. "They have two marmosets on their team. They're prepared. But their thought patterns indicate that the teleportation pad is only a secondary objective. I think they're more interested in some other strange discovery – I don't know what else it could be."

"Let's see if we can find an alternative way into this old temple… maybe we can beat'em to the punch."

The vixen nodded in agreement.

* * *

**The large stone structure** was in ruin. A group of lizards and two apes stepped into the central chamber and crowded around a massive metal object on the floor. Sunlight filtered in through a large hole in the ceiling, illuminating the swirling dust that filled the air. One of the men placed some sort of handheld device against the large object's outer hull. Seconds later, a rectangular section popped open.

It took six lizards to force the section open. It appeared to be some sort of loading ramp but jutted straight up into the air once they pried it away from the hull. One of the lizards lifted a communicator and reported their successful discovery.

From a loft high above the main chamber, Fox whispered to Krystal. "What is that thing? It looks like part of a ship… too big to be an escape pod, but too small to be anything else."

Krystal shook her head and shrugged. "I think your first assessment was spot on – it's _part_ of a ship. I thought they were here to steal the spell stones?"

Down on the floor, one of the marmosets shouted at the rest of the team in plain Cornerian. "Be careful, you idiots! It could still be providing power to the main reactor! Don't drop it!"

A moment later, one of the lizards who went inside the metallic remains returned to the doorway empty handed. "Everything is written in a language we've never seen before. We've located the first stone but it's going to take some time to figure out how to remove it from the reactor core. Set up a parameter and radio the Empress for help."

"She said she does not wish to be disturbed unless there is an emergency. She was kind enough to give us these coordinates – let's simply finish our job here and move on to the third piece – we have a team hunting for it now. I'm growing impatient."

"As you wish, Marshall Gustav!" The lizard disappeared back inside of the entrance, leaving the marmoset leader alone. He waved his hand to the remainder of the group then made a circular gesture. The entire team fanned out, creating a parameter.

"Can you get into that guy's head?" asked Fox.

The vixen sighed and shook her head. "It's strange, but it seems as though he's been somehow trained… or in some way conditioned to resist telepathic infiltration. Maybe their government anticipated our involvement? I can read the other soldiers, but none of them know what they're here to do – the Marshall is the only one with the answers."

"I'm getting to old for this," Fox replied, cracking his knuckles. "Okay, cover me – don't miss." He stretched his legs then flexed his arms and shoulders to ready himself. Once he felt ready, he pulled out a small detonator and whispered, "Eyes closed, paws on your ears." He hurled the small object out into the center of the room. It bounced off the metal hull and landed on the other side, where Fox couldn't see it. He leapt over the stone rail and landed on a cracked concrete surface. He clinched his eyes and covered his ears despite the fact he was now the center of attention.

The magnesium grenade exploded, blinding and deafening everyone in the room. Fox's eyes snapped open and he drew an assault rifle up from its harness strap. He shouldered one lizard to the ground then fired his gun on another across the room. The second lizard dropped in place. Fox pivoted on his heel, finished off the stunned reptile at his feet then opened fire on the first of two apes. Despite the flash suppresser at the end of the barrel, the weapon still bucked wildly in his grip.

The acridly sweet smell of gun powder filled the room. McCloud tapped the trigger twice, delivering back-to-back three round bursts into the flak jacket worn by one of the mammals. The leader fell back, clutching his chest in pain. Fox darted to the left and broke into a sprint then lifted his weapon and fired. Three high power rounds struck the remaining ape's skull above the nape of his neck. The man's body jerked forward, slamming against a section of the metal hull then he flopped to the ground. His body shuttered hard then seized.

Fox glanced from left to right. A bright blaster discharge lanced through the air. He whirled around, face to face with a wide-eyed lizard with a misshaped forehead. The attacker slumped to his knees. Fox backed away from the soldier who fell forward onto his face. Smoke billowed above a charred section of missing skull. The retired pilot looked up at Krystal on the balcony and offered her a 'thumbs up' gesture.

He moved around to the other end of the large metal object at the center of the room. He lowered his weapon and placed his boot on the back of the Marshall's neck to keep him from crawling away. "Going somewhere Marshall… Gustav was it?"

"M- my r-ribs … are b-broken."

Fox gripped the man by his shoulder and forced him over onto his back. The marmoset gasped, suddenly able to breathe. McCloud smirked and said, "No, they're heavily bruised. You couldn't take a breath because you were lying on your chest. Yeah, I imagine taking six rounds to the torso would hurt like hell. Be glad you're wearing that jacket, buddy." He placed the hot silencer against the man's right forearm. "Don't even _think _about going for your service pistol, pal."

The marmoset's eyes widened from the pain of the hot barrel but he remained otherwise calm. "You… you're Fox McCloud. So, the rumor is true – you're back from the dead."

"You're a little behind on current events… So, what's the prize find?"

The Venom field commander narrowed his eyes. "Nothing that concerns _you_."

Fox moved the barrel to the ape's stomach and tapped the trigger. Three rounds slammed into the armored vest at point blank range. The ape howled in pain. Fox cleared his throat and in a firm voice, said, "Wrong answer. If I have to, I'll go in there myself and find out – but I'd rather spare your life and ask what you guys have found."

"We've not even technically _found_ it yet!"

McCloud flipped a switch on the gun then fired a single round against the vest. Again, the Marshall shouted in intense agony. McCloud put the barrel against the padded left shoulder and said, "You called it a _stone_. What kind of stone? I mean, you guys aren't up in the Forcepoint Temple stealing _those_ stones, so it must be a _different_ kind of stone. Enlighten me, will ya?"

"I'm not even sure if the rumors are true, besides…!"

The gun bucked in McCloud's paws, sending another round into the armored section over the man's left shoulder. The enemy bellowed in reply, shouting, "You've broken my collarbone!"

"Aw, gee man… I thought it would have just _bruised_ your shoulder. Well, maybe I'll have more luck over _here _…what do you think?" Fox moved the gun barrel to the man's right shoulder. "Look, I'm not one of those masochist domination types. I'm not here to make you hurt all over – I'm just doing a job… I'm here to find out why you're not talking to me. So make this easy on yourself. If I wanted you dead, I'd have shot you then gassed the interior of that _thing_ over there. But I _am_ asking you… so talk to me, man."

"It's… it's a spell stone used to power Kursed's ship from when she arrived in this dimension. The gravity bomb used on her ship caused the spell stones to absorb some of the raw energy. When she arrived on this side…" He trailed off, breathed deeply for a moment then continued. "…the stones released that stored energy and pushed the ship apart because their polarities were reversed. Instead of holding it together, they responded by pushing away from one another. One section of her ship landed here. Another landed on Fichina… that was the part that held her command center… that's why she crash landed there. The other two parts are scattered throughout Lylat. Intelligence suggests they may have been drawn into the gravitational pull by whatever planets they were near… and landed there. We're still searching for those two parts. They could be _anywhere_."

"I thought you guys were here to steal the spell stones from Sauria," said Fox.

The lightly furred ape sighed, drew a deep breath through his nose then rushed into one long run-on sentence. "That was the original plan but Bowman's new General felt this was a better idea because a reverse polarity spell stone displaces tenfold the power output of a normal spell stone." At the end, he gulped for a difficult breath of air and added, "That is based off of a computer calculation… a guess. Now what? A Cornerian prison?"

Fox canted his head a bit. "Do I look like a Cornerian soldier to you? I'm a mercenary, you moron." He withdrew a handheld blaster from his belt and pointed it at the man.

"I thought you said you wouldn't kill me!" he shouted in alarm. Fox pulled the trigger and his body went limp. His head rolled to the left and his right hand dropped from where he favored his torso injuries.

"Don't accuse me of lying," retorted McCloud. He flipped the pistol's setting selector from 'stun' back to 'lethal' and put it into his holster. "You're going to wake up with one _hell_ of a migraine, Gustav." He waved to Krystal and said, "You've got the stun grenades in your pack. C'mon down here and we'll use'em to clear out this _thing_." He nodded to the remains of Kursed's ship. "There's some strange language carved into the hull adjacent to the entrance… have you ever seen anything like this?"

Krystal vaulted the stone rail, dropped from the ledge and landed in a crouched position not far from her husband. She stood up, adjusted the engagement ring and wedding band on her left paw then withdrew her staff. She brought the tip near the etchings in the metal hull and clinched the shaft. The end incandesced, casting a soft blue glow over the carvings. Her eyes widened. "It's …I've not seen this in…" She paused to gawk at the lettering laser-scribed into the metal. "About thirty years – it's been over _thirty years_ since I've seen this."

Fox ticked off three fingers then tilted his head. "That long? So you're looking at Cerinian writing?"

"Yes, precisely!" She glanced back at her husband and frowned. "No doubt about it, Kursed was from Cerinia. I still have a difficult time believing that she is… _was_ me."

"In a parallel dimension," reminded Fox. "You could have turned into her, but you _didn't_. Stop mixing apples with oranges, just because they're both fruit." He offered her a comforting smile. "You're my wife, remember?"

"Thank you, Fox." Krystal sighed anxiously with a nod. "It's a shame the body was stolen during all the commotion following the destruction of Corneria's capital… I would volunteer to do a DNA matching test. It's rather frustrating." She turned back to her husband. "What about the fur sample Beltino had… he was testing to see if he could find a DNA commonality to prove she came from a different universe, right?"

"We'll have to contact him," said McCloud. "Let's clear out this chunk of ship and take the spell stone back to Corneria… then we'll go and find the other. I don't want these things falling into the wrong hands."

Krystal glanced at the man on the ground. "I was able to look into his mind briefly. Remember what he said about the one on Fichina? That stone was _already_ recovered by _his_ team. I couldn't sense anything from him until he had that gun against his other shoulder… then I saw where his thoughts turned to the memory of his last mission – that means Bowman already has _one_ stone as of twenty-four hours ago. However, he was honest in telling you that they've not yet located the other two parts."

"How in the heck will _we_ find them first?" McCloud withdrew his pistol and shouldered his rifle, readying himself for close-quarters combat inside the engineering section of the broken ship.

"Simple," replied Krystal with a smile. She pulled a stun grenade and tilted her head at her mate. "Krazoa technology – the long story short, Fox: before Andross captured me, prior to your involvement on Sauria… he found a Krazoa device designed to locate the stones. See, that's how he found the Force-point Temple to begin with. I'd already tangled with Andross shortly after landing – I was trying to find him before it was too late but I failed. The planet began ripping apart and a powerful storm moved through the immediate area. I went out in that storm with the help of a Cloud Runner named Kite and bumped into his henchman, Scales.

"Then, Fox, a few months ago when I was on Aquas with our son, King Tricky mentioned the city where it's located – the Valley of the Krazoa. We'll find the ancient transponder and use it to locate everything – so, _yes _we'll finish the cruise and our 'vacation' on Sauria _first_. Worst comes to worst, we'll have Slippy tweak it, should it not work on the reverse-polarity stones. At best, it'll tell us where all eight are – we'll ignore the four on Sauria and the one in our current possession. Then we'll locate the two missing ones and go after the one on Venom. If Kursed could power a ship with those stones, I'm sure they'll have a very similar idea… Just imagine – unlimited power means their shields would never wear down. It's no wonder Corneria struggled against her in that dimension."

Fox nodded to the entrance to the ruined ship. "Toss in the grenade, my dear. Does this mean we get to go gallivanting around Lylat together? Just us? Team McCloud?" He attached a silencer to the end of the pistol so as not to deafen himself should he need to use it inside the ship's remains.

She offered a sly grin then furrowed a single eyebrow. "You're still retiring _after_ we find these things – I won't bother our son from his senior year at the academy. I want him to finish. So, _yes _my dear… it's up to Team McCloud – just _us_. But like I said, when the dust settles, your tail is _retired_."

Fox paused but then inspiration dawned on him. He grinned and told her, "No, that's fine – one last mission by your side is a good way to finish my career. I appreciate it."

"I love when you're sweet to me." She stood on her tip-toes and kissed the side of his muzzle then flung the stun grenade through the inverted entrance of the crash remains. She reached her paws up and cupped the side of his ears. The staff constricted in her palm, telescoping down to its compact form.

Fox reached his paws up to either side of her head and covered her ears, with the pistol against her hair. He thumbed the safety out of habit. They both closed their eyes and counted in silence, holding one another's ears. A muffled thud vibrated through the flooring then they both headed into the entrance. He flipped the safety off and toggled the laser sight to its 'on' position. "…Besides, I'm growing too old to blow things up and still get away unscathed. All right, let's find this thing – here we go."

* * *

**Fara Marie Phoenix**, a twenty-five year old fennec vixen, ran her fingers through shoulder length sandy locks. She stood before a mirror in full camouflage gear then brought her paw to her bangs, pushing her headfur back. She tied it off into a ponytail then tucked the length of her hair up and used a hair tie to secure it. She pondered cutting it short like when she was nineteen, back in her military days… After a moment, she shrugged the thought away. Phoenix glanced at her wristwatch, walked out of the locker room and into a large hanger.

Seven men stood at attention, each with a fifty-yard gaze. She approached the line of men – they looked straight through her, completely stoic. The fennec inspected each man's appearance, gear and stance. At the end of the line she put her back to them, walked away then pivoted on her heel. She lifted her paw in salute but none of them replied. A grin tugged at the corner of her muzzle.

"Good. It seems you remembered I'm a civilian this time. And look at that – _none_ of you failed my inspection on this go around. You boys are learning. But how will you guys act in the future when more females sign up for this project? That was the issue during our last meeting, wasn't it?" No one responded. She folded her arms behind her back. "Can any of you tell me why females might be _important_ to our line of work?" She paused then nodded to a collie, second from the left end of the line.

"Sir, a male would not be able to pass as a female if an operation required an agent to assume the identity of an enemy female target, sir!"

"That's true," said Phoenix. "To a _degree_, that's true, if we're talking about you seven – you're awfully muscular and tall in stature. I don't know, though… I've heard of some pretty wild guys out there who dress up as women every night… and guess what? They _pass_ as females on their driver's license. So, young man, your answer doesn't exactly fly with me. Anyone else?" She looked from left to right. Her gaze stopped on a hybrid reptile. "Asper – why might a female be important to our line of work?"

"Sir," he shouted in a stern voice. He knew the answer she wanted to hear. "There is _no difference_ between a male and a female in this line of work. There are only agents. Just as some women are not cut out for this line of work, easily as many men are _also_ not cut out for this program, either. Gender has _no bearing_ on _anything_, nor will it ever… Sir!" He repeated her lecture from last time almost verbatim.

Phoenix brought her paws together and applauded softly. "Explain to me how I was able to render you into a state of unconsciousness last month?"

Asper drew in a deep breath so as not to visibly flinch. In the same firm tone, he told her, "Sir, you caught me off guard, sir! Your superior training and military experience gave you an edge, making you a superior soldier, sir!"

"And, in this training program, what is _your_ mission?" Fara placed her paws behind her back again, visually displeased with his reply regarding superiority. She turned away from him.

"To outperform my training instructor, sir!"

She whirled about coming face to face, folded her arms across the front of her chest then narrowed her eyes. "The _real_ reason I rendered you unconscious last month is because you _refused_ to _defend yourself_ against me. Why? Because I'm a FEMALE! That is NOT an acceptable reason. If I was an enemy agent, I would have slain you in the battlefield. It's _not_ because I'm a superior soldier, regardless of my experience and training. I'm here to make _all of you_ better than me but as of right now _none_ of you seem capable of doing what it is that we do in this program. You'll learn how to defend yourself and _survive_ a _suicide_ mission. You'll learn how to compensate for a disadvantage. You'll also learn how to make better judgment calls! Finally, you'll learn how to overcome your own weakness."

She took a deep breath then turned away from him, walked a few feet from the group then turned to face them all. "Listen up! We have a practice mission coming up and it's _not _going to be easy. Six hours ago Intelligence learned of a stone object that landed on Titania. Just two hours ago, we got the green light to retrieve it.

"This is a hot, dry landscape. We'll go there and retrieve this stone for Corneria – the desert will be our next training ground. I'll teach you how to survive in the harsh environment. We begin at sunup. If we work together as a team, nothing will go wrong. However, there is a sixty-one percent chance that we will have competition. We're not the only ones who want this stone."

Fara withdrew a clipboard wedged in her belt at the small of her back. She glanced at the text notes she made earlier in the week then tossed the clipboard on the floor. "Next week, we'll learn how to pass as ordinary citizens. If you find yourself among civilians and all of you are rounded up by enemy terrorists… guess what? Standing like a soldier will cause them to pick you out as a threat. If an enemy isn't aware of your presence, you've already completed half of your job. You'll learn _spookery_, you'll learn how to _adapt_, how to _blend_ _in_ and how to _disappear_. You're not just military fodder anymore. You simply belong to the government without a branch to speak of – you're a covert operations agent and if you screw up, I _guarantee_ any information of your involvement will be disavowed …does anyone know why?"

"Because," shouted another canine at the far end of the line. "We do not exist and what we're training to do does not exist!"

"Exactly," replied Phoenix. "Your JOB is to blend in – you do NOT exist. So if you're caught, why would Corneria's Planetary Defense Council admit to your existence? You don't and we won't! You never have and you never will. As far as the enemy is concerned, should they capture you… you're ordinary people caught in the middle, at the _very least_. We want you to crack in less than fifteen seconds of torture and load the enemy with disinformation. If they torture you _more_ …then guess what? They'll get the same damn story from you. You'll _never_ tell them who you truly are because no special status exists in your file. Now… I have a warm up exercise today. Before we get ready for tomorrow morning's trip to the desert, I want to assess hand-to-hand combat abilities for each one of you.

"I can learn where you stand from a simple spar." Fara walked the line, paws at her sides with her chin held high. "By having individualized combat, I'll learn your defensive weaknesses, your offensive strengths and devise a way to help you become better. We'll start by having all seven of you attempt to subdue me as a team. If you can't work together as one group or adapt to one another's style, you're not going to blend in as a crowd either – trust me. Once I've put each of you down… _or_ …once I've been subdued, we'll begin again with the individual spars.

"However! The rules are different today! Any man who holds back while trying to spar against me… I'll send you home with a very _poor_ recommendation to your superior officer. Let's face it, if you seven boys _can_ take me down then _I'll_ have learned something today, right? But! If you boys don't try your hardest against me, I'm not going to learn _my_ personal limitations… and then I'll make poor judgment calls against an enemy when in the field… and _that_ may cost me _my_ _life_. So by you going easy on me, you'd really be doing me a disservice. Do you understand?"

All seven men responded in unison with a loud shout. "HUAA!" The noise sounded more like, 'hoo-ah!' Fara stopped at the end of the line, turned about and began pacing before them with her paws once more behind her back.

"So, '_Huaa_,' is it? 'Heard, Understood And Acknowledged,' means that all seven of you are telling me that we're on the same page. I expect you boys to fight until one of us either taps out or is unconscious. I mean it. If I feel any of you aren't fighting up to your true potential, my recommendation will all but ruin your military career." She narrowed her eyes at them. "I'm hard on you boys for a reason – I'm doing you and your career a favor. I'm making you better than you were before and if you can't achieve an objective, even one as simple as "subdue the female target" then I don't want you in _my_ program. Is that understood?"

Again, all seven of them responded in unison. "Sir, yes sir!"

"Your objective is the non-lethal takedown of your instructor." She held a stopwatch in the air, clicked the button with her thumb and attached it to her belt. "You have only five minutes on the clock or a dummy bomb on my belt goes off – click the stopwatch – deactivate the timer to win. ….And the clock is ticking!"

All seven men rushed towards Fara. Her eyes swept across the group from left to right. Two collies, two setters, a Doberman, a bobcat and the hybrid avian-reptile mix known as Asper. She watched as the group fanned out around her then shouted, "Remember, the bomb is on my belt – attacks to the waistline, hips, groin or tailbone may set off the dummy bomb so be smart! Four minutes, forty-five seconds remain!" Her voice echoed off the empty hanger bulkheads.

The first collie and the Doberman came at her on the right while one of the setters came from the left. She thrust her palm out, closing her fingers overtop the Doberman's fist then kicked her left leg against a setter's knee. She ducked the _first_ collie's attempt at a jab then extended her right leg into the _second_ collie's muzzle. She performed a back flip but never released the Doberman's fist. With him now off balance, she forced his paw up then brought her free fist into his armpit. She followed through with a kick to his ankles. Fara closed her free fist around his bicep from beneath his extended arm then swung him into the two collies. All three of them collapsed to the floor. "One of you has to grab this stopwatch and click the button before it reaches zero!"

Something struck the side of her svelte head from behind and a large feline paw closed around her shoulder. Meanwhile, the first setter approached her head on with his fists raised. The vixen threw her arms upwards and knelt, slipping out of her jacket just as the canine threw a punch. His jab struck the large feline in the eye. She closed her fists over the hem then stood up and forced it around the neck of the bobcat. Asper came at her from the left.

She snatched the end of an empty sleeve and looped it around the nearby second setter's neck then kicked her leg out again. Her heel connected with the large winged reptile then she boosted herself off of his chest and somersaulted over the setter and bobcat. Still holding the jacket wrapped around their necks, she used the other sleeve to loop the knot. Asper drew back, staying on the defensive side. The feline and canine struggled to get apart, prone and defenseless. She performed a roundhouse, catching both men in the face. They fell to the floor, still tied together at the neck. Five down.

Two opponents left. She performed a jump kick at the side of the reptile's head but he caught her off guard with a surprise wing attack. His powerful featherless limb extended, throwing her to the floor on her stomach. The remaining setter tackled her by jumping headlong onto her back. He placed his palms against the back of her ankles to try and keep her down. She worked her head and shoulders beneath his knees then pushed away from the floor, straining her arms. With all the strength of her back muscles, she forced herself up. The last canine thrashed in an attempt to break free of her grip. His paws slipped from her ankles; she stood up, lifting him with her lower back and powerful legs.

On her feet again, Fara leaned backwards falling into a suplex. The setter, beneath her, groaned from having the wind knocked from his lungs. She saw Asper approaching and rolled away then bounded to her feet and launched herself at him with a flying knee. He ducked back, giving her a moment to regain her balance. She spun around, building up momentum for a roundhouse kick but her heel met Asper's wing, which he used like a shield. He turned about and shoved her to the floor with all his weight.

Fara toppled to the ground then performed a quick kip-up, returning to her feet. The vixen put her balance on her left heel, ready for another attack. She brought her arms up, crossing her wrists to catch a high kick from the reptile. She jerked her head back, evading a jab then grabbed his right fist with her left paw and shoved her other palm into his sternum. His eyes widened from pain but he was a practiced fighter and seemed otherwise unfazed.

Asper glanced at the others then his eyes flitted to the stopwatch on her belt buckle. He made another swing at her, trying to run down the clock. "Forty-five seconds to go," shouted the reptile in a clear voice. "Everyone clear out before the 'bomb' goes off!" He threw a three-hit combination punch, which Fara absorbed by crossing her forearms to protect her face. The group scrambled away to the sidelines.

Faking to the right, Fara countered with a swift punch but he was ready for her. The hybrid's featherless wings, mounted from his shoulder blades, spread wide in an intimidating fashion. He walked into her punch then threw his arms and wings around her body. The two toppled to the floor with thirty seconds to go.

"You've not subdued my arms," she shouted, using her fists to attack his abs and a pressure point beneath his left arm. He shouted in pain but kept his wings tight around her body to keep her from getting away. She continued in a loud, clear voice, providing instruction for the entire group. "I could easily go for a sidearm right now; yours or mine! You'd be dead in seconds," she added.

Asper's concern remained for the team. "Ten seconds," he called out in reply. He jerked his body hard, smothering her with his weight. He wrestled for control and it took seven seconds to move over top of her. No sooner did he pin her, she kicked her leg out and literally threw him from her body. He soared across the room, head over heels and landed on his back adjacent to the other six. The digital timepiece beeped. Its high pitched screech echoed off the walls. Phoenix removed it from her belt buckle and thumbed the button.

She stood up, threw the cheap stopwatch on the floor in disgust, balled her paws into fists and placed them on her hips. "And what was _that _Gunny? Did you _learn_ that in the Marines? I sure hope not – I wouldn't want one in my program if they teach their people to blow themselves up! If you couldn't subdue me, how could you disarm the bomb? All you had to do was stop the watch with your thumb!" She approached the group near the wall, kicking the clipboard on the floor from out of her way. It skittered across the deck, spewing several pieces of paper in every direction. "Are we back at square one, Asper? Have we devolved since last week? Is it because I'm a female and you don't want to fight me? Dammit, you ran down your last half minute just trying to _grapple_ with me and I _know _you're better than that!"

"No," said Asper as he moved to his feet. "There were too many of us – unfortunately we're not a tight enough team to have worked together against you effectively. There was no way to win. We were stepping on one another's toes… However, with only a minute left, I changed the plan. Had you not thrown me, I would have used my body to absorb the detonation. Smothering the blast would save my team. You're dead, Instructor Phoenix! And there are still, at the very least, _six_ survivors."

Fara reached her paws back to adjust her ponytail then she glared at him. "While it's noble to give your life in return for the safety of your team… that's _not_ the objective here. My program and training is provided to make you men survive a suicide mission. You have just died in an attempt to smother the bomber… so you _did not survive_. However, I'm glad you actually made somewhat of an effort to fight me this time."

"I take my military career seriously – I won't have a poor recommendation ruin what I've worked hard to achieve, Miss Phoenix."

She hated shouting at these men but recalled her instructor's methods, remembering how hard _her_ training was, years ago. "_What_? Did you say _Miss_?" She gave a downward tug at her camouflage top to free it from wrinkles then placed her paws on her hips. "Rule number four, in this hanger gender doesn't exist while you're on the clock – I'm not _Miss_ anything; I'm _Instructor Phoenix_. I'll also accept _sir_, sensei or something similar. When you people have earned my respect then we'll be, at the very most, on a first name basis. Are we _clear_, Gunny?"

Asper closed his left hand into a fist. "Sir, I take my military career seriously, _sir_. I won't allow your recommendation to _ruin_ my hard work, _sir_!" He narrowed his eyes in reply to her glowering expression.

"Then, next time, stop holding back! Yes, I'm glad you actually made an effort this time, but you did _not_ fight up to your honest potential. If it happens again, I'm writing you up and it goes in your permanent file."

The Doberman cleared his throat and said, "Depending on the power of this fake bomb, Asper would have survived. You _threw_ him with several seconds left on the clock."

Phoenix glanced from the canine to the hybrid reptile. "Depending on the power of the faux bomb, yes, you're right. If was anything more than a simple exercise, I'd say we would take that call to arbitration. But his intent was to sacrifice himself – he stated that. I don't want you boys dying a glorious death. Leave that to the enemy – your job is to sneak away unseen and unscathed."

The reptile's beady eyes dropped to the floor. "I came here to learn how _not_ to die. You're right, I was incorrect and it won't happen again." Simple and concise, his apology even sounded sincere.

"I'm relieved," she said. "I like seeing a man who is humble, especially one with your potential. You'd better use it. Now, you've ALL failed this exercise. Not because I manhandled you seven like a group of little school girls," she paused for effect, wanting to see them squirm from her insult. "…You failed because you didn't follow orders. Someone tell me the order I gave you."

The bobcat sat up with the jacket still wrapped around his neck. However, he was no longer tied to one of the setters. "You ordered the non-lethal takedown of the target."

Fara approached him, yanked the jacket away from his neck and bellowed, "NON-LETHAL!" She turned to glare at Asper. "What if the target had information? What if the target's survival _was_ the mission? Can you live with failure? Can you live with defeat? You wanted to sacrifice yourself to save others – fantastic, how are you going to save them a second time? Or a third time? What if they get into trouble in the field after you're dead? You can't save'em now, can ya?" She lifted her paw to keep him from responding. "Okay – you've learned your lesson. How are you going to resolve that issue?"

Asper closed his hands into scaly fists and sighed. The Doberman helped him to his feet. He turned about and straightened his clothes. "Learn from you, Instructor Phoenix, then apply it in the field and do my best, Sir."

"Good! I don't want this issue turning into a whole subscription. Leave your concerns about gender at the door and this won't happen again."

"Sir, yes sir." Asper folded his wings behind his back and his arms across his chest.

She nodded firmly then pointed to a video camera on the other side of the large empty hanger. "You seven have a lot of work ahead of you. You have to learn how to work together as a team. Body language can tell a lot about a person. And yet none of you looked at one another so there was no way you guys could know what the rest of your team was thinking. If you guys can't work together as a group, how can I expect any of you to make a good teammate to _me_ if we were together in the field?" She cleared her throat to ensure she had their attention then calmly said, "I taped this session so I can go back and see what you guys were doing wrong. I expect everyone to learn from their mistakes. However…"

She pushed her paws together and cracked her knuckles. "I want everyone to know that I _do_ think we're ready for something as simple as a search-and-retrieve mission in the desert." Fara ran her fingers back into her headfur then told them, "We're all a little tender right now but I expect you guys to walk it off. Pain is a mental stimulus and acts as the body's reaction to minor injury. Just remember: anything major and you'd probably be in shock at first. You wouldn't feel it until later, when your adrenaline thins out – that can be far more serious, so be _glad_ you ache right now. Remember this pain – it _is _your friend!

"I plan to spar each one of you guys later and give you direct feedback on what you're doing wrong. For now, though, I want everyone to hit the showers. Transport to Titania will be provided courtesy of Phoenix Transit Dynamics Inc. where we'll all enjoy a nice nap before the drop. The mission begins at sunup and we won't leave that planet until we find the artifact."

* * *

**CHAPTER -1-  
**"_Welcome Home Fara"_

Two months later…

**The Academy cafeteria, a loud and boisterous hall**, was bustling with the midday crowd. Crimson O'Donnell, a hybrid mixture between a timber wolf and a red fox, sat down besides his best friend. He reached over and took an unused fork adjacent to Marcus McCloud's tray. The red-headed gray-furred boy offered a grin then pushed the utensil into a lumpy helping of gravy-smothered mashed potatoes. "So Sugar's real name is Clover Shughar, but she legally changed her last name to 'Sugar' when she tried to break into acting. Shortly after, she used it as her stage name to dance."

Marcus toyed with a spoon, stirring some kind of soup. "Crimson and Clover, huh? For some reason that sounds familiar; maybe it's just me." He transferred the spoon to his other paw then the bluish-gray furred fox set it down on a napkin. "I've not heard from my parents for two months. They went to Sauria on some kind of vacation and they've not even so much as called me."

Crimson ran his fingers back through the stark garnet tuft of headfur between his ears. "That's odd. Have you talked to Falco or Slippy?"

"They're starting to grow concerned, too." Marcus rolled his shoulders forward into a shrug. "Falco said mom and dad kinda' dropped off the radar around the time Fara left for her training seminar on Titania. I'm starting to put puzzle pieces together if you know what I mean."

"Not in the least, man."

Marcus turned towards his friend, facing the son of Wolf O'Donnell head on. "Remember when I told you that Fara went to Titania for a training mission? She had Asper with her, remember?"

Crimson snapped his fingers. "Right! The one where it took several days to do what she thought would only take a single afternoon… Yeah, I remember that you were pretty worried about her… but that was two _months_ ago – why?"

"Red, think back… _she_ found some sort of special stone; she said it resembled the ones that dad used to repair Sauria before I was born. She had to pull out history books to cross reference it. She couldn't tell me anything more than that – the whole mission was under classified status for a long-damn-time. She found out that Venom apparently scored one identical to hers but they found it on Fichina. Pretty weird, right? Well here's what I'm getting at… I talked to Bill again today."

Crimson turned back to his food with a casual expression. His right ear perked up, keeping it towards the fox. He stabbed at the potatoes again. He could tell by the tone that Marcus must have been on to _some_thing.

"…And, for the first time in two weeks, I sensed Bill was _not_ worried about mom'n dad. So, I think he spoke with them… but when I probed his mind, I saw a mental image of a stone like the ones kept at the Force Point Temple on Sauria. I think Venom, Fara and my father are all somehow involved in finding a group of these things… but no one is talking so I can't be sure. Not a telepathic lead, just a gut feeling."

O'Donnell offered McCloud a sidelong gaze. "Okay, so Venom is involved in looking for these – they apparently want it… then Fara mentions Venom's presence on Titania but all the fine print is confidential, secret… _whatever_. But what about your parents; you think they ran into Venom while on Sauria, too?"

"I'm not sure of all the details," replied Marcus. His summer coat of fur was thicker and closer to gray than normal, just the way he liked it. He leaned back a bit, glaring at the cold soup. "She's coming by tonight. …First time in a _long_ time, that's for sure. After the mission, she had to go back to Titania with an Internal Affairs team – something happened to several of her trainees. She called me last night to say she was in town and told me the mission is no longer 'top secret' status, but some of the details are still somewhat classified. …Just a low level of security, so… I'm sure we'll talk about it soon. I've been pretty curious to see how she handled Violet's new boyfriend… but now I _really_ want to find out more about that stone thing. I have this feeling that it might help tie things together."

"Out of curiosity, when's the last time you had any nightmares?"

Marcus' ears lowered. "Last night – Kursed came after my family. She was hunting us. Sometimes, I feel like she's still…" he trailed off, hearing an admonishing thought from his friend. The vulpine pilot offered a shrug in reply and said, "Don't mind me, I'm being stupid."

"Yeah, just a bit," said Crimson with a nod of acknowledgement.

The fox's ears lifted again and he canted his head. "How about we talk about something I have control over, since dreams are a waste of my time, Red?"

"How about…" The half lupine trailed off then grinned. "The fact that your girlfriend is in town – are you guys getting together tonight?"

McCloud offered an ardent nod then shrugged. "You're going to hang out with your _roommate_ tonight …you want to turn it into a double date? We've not planned anything but if you guys wanna' go see a movie or something, we're flexible."

The red-headed wolf toyed with his borrowed fork. "It's not like we're officially dating." His ears flattened and his whiskers drew back along his muzzle. "You pokin' around in my brain?" He pushed his elbow against McCloud then grinned. "Every time we drink we wind up making out. It never goes further than that because I when I'm drunk, I can't get my…"

Marcus placed his paw over Crimson's mouth and glared. "I don't need to know."

Crimson tried to finish his sentence but McCloud's paw remained firmly over his maw. '_…Is that a normal problem? I thought people were supposed to get freaky when they're smashed,_' he thought, knowing that Marcus would hear him telepathically.

Frustrated, McCloud offered a simple nod. "Crimson… Damn it – yeah it's common for guys to have that problem when they're inebriate. I've heard the thoughts of plenty of women throughout the local campus bars when I walk by one at night. Some chicks actually monitor how much their boyfriend drinks, so they know they'll get action that night. Believe me, sometimes I wish I could turn off my abilities. I don't care to know every intimate detail when I just want to take a walk."

O'Donnell jerked his head back from his friend's palm and lifted his paws defensively. "Okay, okay man. Geeze, alright, already." He cleared his throat then said, "She wants to drink tonight – what should I do?"

McCloud rolled his half narrowed eyes. "Don't drink as much… and for goodness sake, don't be dumb like _me_, man. Learn from my mistakes and use a contraceptive."

"Nothing's going to go that far," replied the freshman with a chuckle. "Seriously though, I'll buy something just in case. Okay?" He held his paw out, knuckles forward and paused.

Cutting his gaze to the offered fist, Marcus smirked at his friend for a moment then reached his paw up and brushed his knuckles against Crimson's. "Okay, Red… Heck, I'm surprised you and her have gone _this long_ without doing anything. I thought you said you got a lap dance from her during your first week."

"I did!" Crimson coughed into his paw and, under his breath, added, "But I was fully clothed – it was a one time thing." He looked about furtively then leaned towards Marcus and, in a hushed tone, told the fox, "It took some alcohol and some pleading eyes… but I was too drunk to take it any further. Let me tell ya… I woke up horny as hell the next morning and had to…"

"Shh!" Marcus put his paw on his friend's nose and pushed the other boy's face away. "We didn't share a womb; let's not share blue ball stories."

Crimson erupted into laughter. "But you already know because you're telepathic. At least if I tell you, it's consensual knowledge, right? Besides, I might have finished the story with, '…swallow a pound of salt pewter.' You never know!"

"But I don't want to know one way or the other!" He ran his fingers back through his white and light blue bangs. "Seriously, Red, you weren't actively thinking about messing around with her, so I wouldn't have known either way. You didn't have to bring it up and tell me the whole story. I don't always go probing people's thoughts – I'm not _that _curious to know about Sugar Rabbit."

"Clover Sugar," corrected the wolf. "And speaking of curiosity the first day we met, _she_ was curious about _me_. She asked if all red heads were 'fire crotches' then asked if the _curtains_," he touched his forehead then lowered his paw to a thigh, "…matched the _drapes_. So I showed her."

Marcus waved both of his paws at his friend as if warding off an evil spirit or a small swarm of insects. "You're doing this on purpose. Why don't you just hump her and get it over with. For Pete's sake, Red. Anyhow, Fara and I will probably stay in tonight. We have a lot of catching up to do… besides, I'm off for the rest of the day and _you_ still have astrometry class."

O'Donnell winced. "I have a _test_ on Stellar Dynamics. I had to call Lucy Hare last night and have her explain it to me. I don't see why astrophysics is important to a fighter pilot."

A shrug. "Red, first of all try and remember that not every student here is going to become a fighter pilot. Second of all, learning the physics of the universe is kinda' important. Not necessarily cosmology but if you learn what an asteroid is made of, you can learn how to degauss a fighter. Then, if you're clever, you shoot an energy weapon into the field that makes the iron-rich chunks turn temporarily magnetic… While being pursued, use the field to defend yourself against hostile invaders."

Crimson blinked at Marcus for a moment, just glaring at his friend.

"Seriously, I did a project on it when I was fifteen. Slippy helped me word my proposal, my thesis and showed me how I can conduct a model for classroom explanation. In case you didn't know this, you'll have to do some sort of project in your sophomore year for that class."

"…Great." Crimson stood up and grinned. "I just saw my roommate across the way – she's sitting by herself. I think I'll go and yak at her for a minute. See you after the weekend."

"Good luck with that whole 'boy-girl' thing you two have going on," replied Marcus.

"You too; what with Fara coming home and all. Rawr!" O'Donnell picked up his tray and moved through the mobbed cafeteria then disappeared into the crowd.

Meanwhile, Marcus stood up, grabbed his backpack and tossed his trash into a nearby canister. He made his way out of the cafeteria then quickened his pace sensing Fara Phoenix was in the area. He made a beeline for the hallway labeled '_Dormitories_'.

* * *

**His paw came flush against a sensor** adjacent to the door. Marcus' padded palm activated a scanner. The door opened and Fara stood at the far end of the room wearing McCloud's bathrobe. He stepped in, closed the door behind himself and approached her. Halfway across the room, he tossed his book bag on the floor then opened his arms to her. The two embraced. He placed his paws on her back, able to feel a lack of clothing beneath the robe. She smelled clean and her slightly damp neck fur was matted down.

"Feel better?"

Fara grinned. "I always feel better when I'm clean. How was your day?"

"Same old day, different lesson learned." He brought his paws up to her face then kissed her in a way he felt was a proper greeting. "It's good to see you."

She melted into his short kiss then told him, "You're so much more affectionate than anyone else I've ever dated. A girl could certainly get used to this." She cut her gaze to the backpack on the floor next to her duffle bag. "I suppose I can worry about getting dressed later on. Tell me about …anything. What've I missed in the last few weeks?"

"Crimson being lazy."

Fara grinned, buried her paws beneath the flaps of the robe and nestled into his chest. "Another classic example of entropy increasing. Tell me about what you've been up to, love."

"Have a rough trip? It lasted longer than a week, that's for sure. Tell you what… I'll tell you all about how boring school is, but you tell me your story first."

"But, I…" Fara shrugged.

"I insist – ladies first, sweetheart." Marcus lowered his paws again. He slid his right arm around her shoulders then dipped his left beneath her knees and lifted her into his arms. He carried the petite vixen over to a sofa next to the bed and sat down on the cushy couch. He put his legs up and drew her into an embrace so that she was in a semi-fetal position atop of his chest. Fara pushed her head beneath his chin, burying her face into his neck for a moment.

"I just got back from the military tribunal. The deaths of those men weren't my fault, thank goodness. The weird thing is, I actually kinda' predicted it to them right before it happened." She sighed, snuggling her face against his warm body. Her eyes closed followed by a second sigh. "The mission was a disaster. Four of the men were mortally wounded. The space port was destroyed – I'm surprised you didn't hear about it, but it seems as though someone has somehow managed to keep that out of the media. The three survivors helped me to finish the objective – they learned a lot from this mission."

"Fara, just tell me what happened. Tell me everything – it might help in the future if StarFox somehow becomes involved."

She nodded and pushed her face back into the crook of his neck a second time. "Okay… as much as I'd rather hear what _you_ have been up to, I guess I'll go first. A few weeks ago, the team headed out to Titania because Intel thought an artifact crash landed on the surface at the center of the Upper Hemisphere on the Theremin Continent…"

_Several weeks ago…_

**The Phoenix Enterprises star-liner** sank into the atmosphere above Titania. The space port, far below, was a tiny dot in the red-tinted window bubble. Fara Phoenix turned to her group of trainees and said, "Listen up, gents. You've all been in the military for a while now. You've all decided to make a career out of your service. Yet the military's inability to provide you with _everything_ you want out of serving your planet has led you here. You all want to make a difference and that's not something you could do before. Today, you'll make that difference if you follow my instruction. This is an _official_ military operation. Official means… if you die, you'll be acknowledged and get a nice funeral with a flag on your casket. Some random officer will shake your parents' hand or paw, tell them how their son was a fine and dedicated serviceman and a check will arrive in their mailbox. But guess what?"

She lifted her chin a bit and emoted a sort of shoulderless-shrug by furrowing her brows and tipping her head. "On covert missions," she continued, turning to glance out the window then added, "…it won't be that way." After a moment, Fara turned back to the seven males. "If any of you die then I'll have failed _my_ mission. My objective is to turn you boys into agents capable of surviving a suicide mission. If you _die_ then I've screwed up. So I want everyone to follow my orders. Now, this is a training operation. It's _not_ a suicide mission – obviously, since you've not been fully trained to complete one. But I promise you guys will return from this job with a few cuts and bruises. When we land, we're going to resume training. I'm turning this into a double objective mission. We find this artifact _and_ I teach you guys how to survive in a harsh climate."

"Instructor," said the panther. "Aren't fennec foxes originally from Titania?"

Fara nodded. "I can handle myself pretty darn good on this oversized sandbox. My ancestors fought in a revolutionary war so Titania could gain independence from Macbeth. I also did _my_ survival training on this planet. After a week in the heat, they put us on Fichina for another full week. Last but not least, they put us in a raft for six days with only three days worth of supplies and left us adrift on Zoness. Compared to something calm, like Aquas, the ocean was choppy, too salty and the sun was hot out in the open. It teaches you to carefully maintain your supplies and adapt to your surroundings." She walked back to the window. "I usually don't talk this much." The vixen placed her paws on the bubble shield, watching the planet enlarge beneath them. They were within the atmosphere now, breaking through the slight cloud cover. "Be honest – have I earned your respect yet, boys?"

Asper replied before anyone else could speak up. "How can any of us respect someone we don't know? I've not fought alongside of you yet. I've not accomplished a mission with you. I don't even know you." He folded his arms and, continuing in his stern tone, said, "And why should our respect matter to you? You're here to do a job, not make friends. I get on the internet and learn you're a rich girl with a strange death-defying history. I can watch you fight six of my fellow soldiers in a large hanger and see how quickly it takes you to kick their tails. But how can I respect someone I don't know… like I said before, why should my respect matter to you?"

The svelte vixen turned from the window and locked her gaze with his. "I care because I'm here to ensure you become eternal. I'm here to make you immortal. _IF_ I do my job correctly, we'll both die of old age because I'm here to teach you how to stay healthy and avoid death for the remainder of your career. That means you're going to know me for a very, very long time. A teacher who doesn't respect their students will not be as effective… I respect you boys. I'm asking for your respect in return." She tilted her head, watching his stoic gaze. A grin tugged at the corner of her muzzle. "You want to know me? I'm not very complicated. I have a boyfriend and I like to watch movies. I giggle and fawn over babies and now that I've grown my hair out, I like to style it. I'm fond of fashion accessories and I even carry a purse when I'm out on the town."

"Part of me doesn't even believe that," said Asper. He glanced over his shoulders at the other six men. They sat on cushy chairs in the large living room and watched the altercation in silence.

"I'm glad you don't," she replied. "It means I can be anyone I want to be – the military can send me in to pretend I'm a Cornerian turncoat to gain the trust of the Venom government… and they'd never believe I'd be any other way. If I was captured and rounded up en masse, with my purse and my hair styled… do you think the enemy would know I was a tactical counter-intelligence operative? How many commandos do _you_ know that act like a 'girly-girl'? Probably none, right? So, now you _know _me. I offer you my professional respect."

The hybrid reptile turned back to Fara. "I never cared if people respected me. Most don't because I don't have fur. Even the amphibians leer at me with contempt. But I _earned_ respect… But I've earned it the hard way - only after working with people. That's how it _should _be. Furthermore, as far as respect does go, I never cared if I had it or not; if they offer it, fine. I could care less. Over time, if I felt they were worth a damn, I eventually gave them my respect in return. I, too, have a girlfriend. She's a beautiful girl – single mother with a family that loves her. They can't always be there for her, but they try. I'm a normal guy with normal parents who live on Katina. I'm nothing special, but I think of myself as driven to succeed. I was raised to believe that women are dainty, feminine and very tender-hearted. That makes them just as beautiful inside as they are on the outside.

"Males are aggressive in nature for a reason – they're the ones who are supposed to fight for things in order to protect their homeland, their children and their women. So what do you want from me?" He lifted his hands up and walked away from her as if pacing. "What should I respect about you? Should I respect you as a woman or should I respect you as a soldier? Should I respect you as a leader or as someone who can teach me how to survive the impossible? There are different degrees of respect… and you're asking for me to respect someone I don't even _know_. I don't give that freely. Finally, everything you've just told me only proves that I was initially right to treat you like a lady. You wear a purse, style your hair, preen and fawn over children. So that tells me I should respect you as a lady, not as a soldier. I called you _miss_ and _ma'am_ out of respect, in that sense. I refused to swing at you out of respect. But then you come down on us yesterday like a machine… So what is it that _you_ respect about _me_, Instructor?"

Fara turned back to the window and shrugged. "And here I thought _I_ was being longwinded. Well now… feel better that you got it off your chest?" She put her paws up on the window and dropped her head, closing her eyes. "I respect that you don't let heritage _or_ your peers come between you and your sense of self. I respect that you're the best fighter and marksman of everyone here. I respect that you do your homework about me and everyone else. I respect that you take care of that girl and her baby, despite how over-the-top her family can get. I respect what you did on Aquas. I respect that you survived the attack and waged a one man war against an army while protecting a citizen and a helpless infant. Yes, I know about that."

"Guess you do your homework, too," said Asper. "Let's go find this artifact. If I ace your program _then _we'll swap life stories. For now, you're just another superior officer whose job I plan to take when I earn my promotion, got it?"

Fara whirled about and thrust her paws in the air. "Good! That's the attitude I want you to have! I want you to do your job first then eye my position. If you're good enough to survive my program then, afterwards, you think you're qualified to turn around and teach it to others… by all means – _do it_! But sometimes you're going to have a female in your group and she's going to want to be the best. If you treat her differently from the rest then you're doing her a disservice. In the end, she won't be properly trained. That's like signing over a death sentence. Do you understand?"

Asper shrugged, walking amongst his peers. He turned around to face Fara and said, "She shouldn't be there in the first place."

Phoenix snatched his collar and slammed him up against the bulkhead. "Is there something about a vagina that makes _me_ incapable, Gunnery Sergeant Asper Sarnoff? Look at my face, don't you even recognize it?"

He narrowed his gaze but didn't resist against Fara's hostile action. "I respect women enough to give my life to protect one because she can do something I could never do… birth a new life and rear them. That's far more impressive than fighting, killing and surviving. A man is just as capable as a woman on every level _except_ the ability to give birth, which means women should be protected. Why throw them onto a bloody battlefield?"

Fara canted her head a bit and leered at him. "Believe it or not, some women would rather take lives than make them. It's their choice. They might decide to join your program one day if you ever take over my position… and if they do, you'd _better_ respect their wish to fight. Just because they're capable doesn't mean they necessarily care about having kids. Now, tell me… is there anything you think a man can do that a woman _can't_ do?"

"No." He glowered in return then said, "But I wouldn't wish the gore of war on any woman's eyes. That's not civilized."

"Just because we have the technology to go faster than light it doesn't mean we're a socially civil people. Stop treating me like I should be pregnant and barefoot. I don't need your protection – _you_, however, need _mine_. I'm going to teach _you_ how to teach future women to be _better_ than you – that's the job of a teacher… to make the student succeed them. Get those preconceived notions out of your head – chivalry has its place in society. But you and I differ from those people. We're warriors, not socialites. You need to learn how to separate things better than by just race and gender. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, _ma'am_."

Fara pulled on his collar than slammed him against the bulkhead again. "Some men are lovers, not fighters. Some women are ladies, some are drama queens, some are enlisted and some are officers. Get that through your thick skull." She narrowed her gaze and said, "And you need to learn your surroundings better. You met me for a split second on the hanger of GreatFox on Aquas. You were in the cargo hold beneath Marcus McCloud's Arwing. I was on the deck, holding your girlfriend's baby – remember now?"

He blinked and shoved Fara away. He looked her over then frowned. "I don't remember you."

"You need to work on your memory skills," said Fara. "I'll get you some flashcards so you can _practice_. You need to be able to recall faces; you never know when simple image recognition will help you in a mission."

The reptile grinded his teeth together, aggravated with her. "I'm doing everything I can to test your patience," said Asper. "Why haven't you threatened to discharge me yet?"

Fara moved closer until they were face to face. "…Because you're an impressive soldier who has outstanding potential." She shoved him up against the wall a third time. "But I'm frustrated because you're such a typical little soldier boy. You stand up straight, you walk tall and you're just another voice of the great military hive mind. You subscribe to chauvinistic ideals and your inability to adapt and blend would hinder your ability to survive a suicide mission. What if your government sent you to Venom to infiltrate them? What if they told you to act like a scientist? Guess what, scientists can spot a jock a mile away. Your job becomes harder and your chance of success drops. It's all in the math. Your personality is a huge variable and your stupid gender outlook is a huge variable and your childish refusal to treat me as an equal is a variable. Add all that up, and you have a formula for disaster. Do you _want _to be here, Sergeant Sarnoff? Then act like it and stop putting vagina on a damn pedestal. Treat a lady like a lady and treat a soldier like a soldier, regardless of their gender."

The ship shuttered hard. A sign on the wall illuminated, directing everyone to remain seated during runway touchdown. Fara jerked her paws from his collar then said, "Everyone, despite my better judgment, Asper Sarnoff is still going to be joining us in the field for this mission. If any of you share his views on a traditionalist society, let me know so I can throw you out the airlock and onto the runway. Now that we're here, I want everyone to grab their gear. We have a stone to find then we're going to hand deliver this thing to Corneria in record time."

Everyone went for their gear. The ship shifted again then listed hard to port. Everyone spilled to the deck, sliding along the plush carpet. Several of the men scrambled to the windows to see what was going on. A distant noise caused Fara to perk up. "That was an explosion. Sounds like it happened out on the tarmac."

"Instructor Phoenix, the space port is under attack! I see Imperial fighters strafing the runway!" The Doberman turned to her followed by a flash in the window.

"Get back from…!" A particle cannon round struck the other side of the window, throwing all eight across the suite. The Doberman's body slammed against the ceiling. Both setters were thrown in opposite directions. Both collies were crushed beneath part of the collapsing ceiling.

The large-pawed panther shoved Fara and Asper towards an oak table. The Doberman's body dropped to the floor adjacent to the panther, who grabbed the canine by his belt. With Asper's help, they pulled the man beneath the large table. The ship shook again, sliding along the runway on its belly at a high rate of speed.

It collided with the side of the space port and everything slid up against the side wall. The cushy chairs flipped over and the sofa slid halfway across the suite. The power flickered twice then everything went dark.

_Presently…_

**Phoenix lifted her head**, gazing into his mismatched eyes. "Just like that, four out of seven were taken from me. Both setters, both collies – the Doberman was lucky as hell. The blast threw him away from where the hull collapsed. He, somehow, came out of the whole thing nearly unscathed. When the panther's adrenaline thinned out… he realized that he'd been cut by debris. There was blood everywhere." She ran her fingers back through her hair and sat up a bit more.

"I found a medical field kit in storage. The sickbay closet was chock full of stuff. I had to stitch him up – felines don't sit still when they're injured. Anyhow, I spent another week with that room alongside the Military's internal investigation unit. But that's another story for another day. We still had a job to do and I deliver regardless of what happens to my team – that's my training. So, the panther – his name is Franklin Louis the Third, the Doberman – Lector Bosworth, the guys call him Lex, and… Asper. The four of us head into the desert, sneaking out during a massive attack.

"Venom forces were everywhere and, of course, the guys wanted to stay and fight but… I had to teach them that the primary objective is always first. Needless to say, they either followed us or they were coincidentally taking the same route to find this artifact. Either way, it was pretty important to them and I wasn't about to let anyone else get it. So, back to the story… We were out at the edge of the space port. The nearest town was a mile east but the intelligence I had suggested for us to head west. We were trying to find hover bikes so we could cover more ground in a shorter amount of time…"

A soft rumble filled the room. Fara paused then turned back to Marcus as if expecting an answer from him. He glanced off into the distance, trying to focus on his clairvoyance. "That doesn't augur well – I sense panic and outright distress but don't know what's going on." Another rumble, loud like thunder and sharp like trouble – the two foxes glanced at one another. "Okay, no one would be dumb enough to attack an academy. I hope… geeze, what if a trainee crash landed?"

"I suppose it's possible," replied Phoenix. "But we heard two explosions. A training fighter doesn't detonate _twice_. It's probable, though, if it struck a building _then_ exploded." The door at the other end of the room swung open and Fara lifted her head. Her eyes widened and her training kicked in.

She pushed her left foot against the floor and leaned hard to the right. The sofa toppled backwards, spilling both foxes to the floor near the wall. Rapid fire blaster rounds struck the bottom of the sofa, setting the insulated bottom ablaze. "Imperials!"

Marcus blinked, sitting up between the overturned couch and the wall. "Imperial Venom shouldn't exist!"

"Go!" she shouted, pointing towards the bed. "Bathroom window," she added straight into his ear, so that he could hear over the noisy weapons' discharge. A blaster volley struck the wall above their heads, leaving a line of scorch marks. The paint bubbled up around the freshly burned holes.

Marcus followed her instructions and headed along the wall until he was behind his bed. Fara moved around, staying behind the sofa. She put her feet against the cushions and her back against the wall, watching flames rise up above the furniture. One of the lizards approached the fiery sofa and craned his neck in an attempt to see over it.

She cut her gaze to the left, meeting Marcus' eyes. He nodded twice then lifted a paw, gesturing to her that one lizard stood on the other side from her. She braced her body against the wall and extended her legs with all the muscle in her back and thighs. The sofa bowled over the lizard, engulfing him in flames. They overtook the couch from the bottom side, beginning to engulf the rest of the upholstery. It pinned the soldier down, his screaming filled the room.

Fara scrambled across the room and grabbed her duffle bag. Several blaster shots narrowly missed her, one of which singed the edge of the bathrobe. She swung the bag by its shoulder strap so that the end struck another of three lizards. He fell back into his partner who shoved him forward.

While they were distracted, she withdrew a service pistol from one of the outside pockets then charged the two remaining soldiers. The first one brought his gun up in an attempt to hit her in the face with it. She ducked then jerked her head up between the lizard and his gun. With a head-butt to the face, she stunned the reptile. Her paws moved forward, shoving him away from her. Her shoulders met his rifle, knocking it to the floor.

The other man opened fire, passing through the robe a few inches beneath Fara's arm. Another close call, the vixen bared her pistol and fired twice. The first shot pierced the lizard's neck with her second one passing through his nose and erupting from the backside of his head. His body seized, pulling the trigger on his automatic pulse blaster. It sent a barrage of gunfire into the floor, facing wall and ceiling.

A light fixture dropped from above, hitting the floor less than a meter behind the fennec. She looked up to check for any other lights then glanced back down at the injured lizard. She brought a knee up into his face, rendering him completely unconscious.

"Dammit!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "All I wanted was to have a nice quiet afternoon with my _boyfriend_." She turned towards the smoldering sofa, just three feet away on her right. The horrendous smell of flame-retardant chemicals caused her to wrinkle her nose. Beneath, an injured lizard lifted his right arm, pointing a Venom-issue handgun at her.

She placed her left heel behind his wrist then twisted her hips. With her ankles crossed, the pivot caused her heels to force his wrist in two directions. He shouted in pain then fired the gun in a random direction. The shot struck the unconscious lizard, killing him instantly. Fara glanced back towards the man she had intended to interrogate then growled at the turn of misfortune.

Aggravated beyond belief, she shifted her body again, breaking his wrist at two angles by means of using her ankles. The sound of snapping caused Marcus to wince. The lizard's shout turned into a groan, winded and unable to catch his breath. Fara kicked the gun from his hand then flipped the pistol in her paw so that she held it by the barrel. She lifted it like a hammer then struck him behind the right ear. He keeled over in silence.

She used her lean left leg to push the charred, smoking sofa off of his torso. With her left foot elevated, the robe slid back, revealing a toned, silky thigh. The sandy fur coloration went all the way to her hip. With her foot still propped, she leaned forward and balanced on her right heel. She gave the sofa a final shove until it rolled off his legs.

Marcus tore his eyes away from her leg and sat down on the bed. "Part of me wishes I was that lizard right now."

Fara glanced down then quickly put her leg back on the floor and pushed the fabric of her holey robe down to cover herself. "He was unconscious – he didn't see anything."

"Still, he's a lucky guy." McCloud ran his fingers over his face then rubbed his eyes. "How did they find us here? And why?"

Phoenix snorted disdainfully. "I don't know – it's not like I have the damn stone on me right now. I left it with General Grey. These guys must think I still have it. I assume the double detonation must have been a diversion to keep campus security away."

He blinked and shook his head. "No, I sense you weren't the target." He moved from the bed and approached a panel on the wall. The fox pressed a square red button at the center then turned back to his vixen. "They were coming for me, I just can't sense _why_. I suppose they're upset with me for giving Venom forces a tough time a few months ago but… I doubt they'd wait this long before trying to come after me."

Fara licked her lips in apprehension and turned away. "It might have something to do with your parents."

Marcus' eyes widened. "What about them? Did Bill tell you something?"

"It's classified," said Fara, adding, "So don't tell him I told you. They're fine – they tracked down a stone on Sauria then learned that Venom found one on Fichina. They got bold… and tracked down the stone that came from Fichina. They took that one… and went into hiding to lay low for a few days. It's possible that Venom came to take you hostage in order to negotiate a trade. You for the artifacts."

"What are they?" demanded the fox. "What the hell does Venom want with them?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," said the fennec. "For a minute there, I thought I was losing my touch… They shouldn't have been able to track me." She face-faulted and said, "I'm sorry they ruined your bathrobe. I'll get you another."

"Why? I mean, that robe was worn by Fara Phoenix in the buff… I could never throw it away." He offered a slight grin. She returned the expression.

Two campus police officers rushed through the open door with weapons drawn. They froze, taking in the scenery then blinked. "Drop your weapon, miss!"

Fara flipped the safety, disengaged the power pack and tossed the gun at the officer. The metallic power supply hit the floor and the pistol landed in the first cop's palm. They both lowered their weapons and inspected the two bodies near the door. "Dead," said one cop.

"Same," returned the other, checking the other lizard.

Fara pointed to the third lizard by the smoldering sofa. "Other than first and second degree burns, a broken wrist and a bruise behind his ear… that one is alive. Turn him over to the city police so they can see what he knows."

The first campus security officer knelt down besides the unconscious lizard and placed restraints on his ankles then another set on his wrists. The reptile visually flinched after the cop clicked the cuffs on his broken forearm. It caused the lizard to stir, groaning from pain.

The second officer radioed for backup to come and deal with the dead bodies. He then turned his attention to Marcus. "It looks like you're going to get another room, sir. Pack up your belongings."

He turned to Fara and sighed. "At least they didn't hit the holo-vision. I really like that thing, you know?"

Fara offered her mate a smile. "I'm glad you do. It'll take an hour or two before they can assign you a new room. We have time." She ducked her head down and buried her nose beneath the flaps of the robe then sniffed. "Yuck – the chemicals from under that sofa… they absolutely reek. We're both going to smell like burnt …whatever that stuff is."

"We should be glad for it," said Marcus, watching the cops lift the groggy lizard from the floor. They escorted the reptile through the door while other officers moved into the room. One of them photographed the bodies while the other began documenting. McCloud turned his attention back to Fara and said, "Put your bag in the bathroom and turn on the ceiling fan. We'll clean up so we don't smell like that stuff, just be glad those chemicals are used on the bottom of things like couches. I didn't want to jump out the bathroom window… we're two stories up."

Fara glanced back at more men coming in through the door. They brought stretchers and lifted the dead reptiles from the floor. She smirked then pointed towards the bathroom door. "Grab a spare set of clothes and get your tail in the shower." She picked up her duffle bag.

"And what about you?" he asked. The fox moved across the room and took some clean clothes from his dresser.

She pointed to the bathroom without another word. He nodded and moved into the bathroom. The vixen turned back towards the campus guards. "That sofa is giving me a headache." She tilted her head and batted her lashes. "Could you boys carry that thing outside for me, _please_?"

To Marcus' amazement, the two remaining canines put away their clipboard and camera then moved to either side of the sofa. They lifted it up and carried it out into the hallway. With the room now empty, Fara sauntered over to the door, closed it and locked it. She turned back to Marcus and pointed in his direction. "Shower, now. Those chemicals probably cause all sorts of problems. We're going to wash it off our fur _right now_."

"Together…? I mean, I…"

Fara carried the duffle bag across the room and guided him the rest of the way into the bathroom. She pulled the door shut, locked it then opened the frosted glass door to the shower stall, turning on the hot water. She set her bag atop of the toilet seat lid and, to McCloud's surprise, shrugged out of the robe. It pooled around her ankles. She stepped into the stall and asked, "Are you coming or what?" She offered him a grin then reached for the soap.

Marcus replied with a nervous chuckle in spite of himself. He kicked his shoes into the corner and fumbled with his belt in a hurry. "Y-yeah, I sure am."

* * *

A/N: _Okay! The first chapter is done! YES I plan on updating Reflections of Fox McCloud. YES I plan on working on all my other StarFox stories. YES, I plan on FINISHING Spy Cooper. But I've been on a huge StarFox kick lately… I promise to finish Spy Cooper soon, but like I said, I'm having a blast with this storyline right now… give me a little time to play with it. That's all I ask of my Sly Cooper fans. _

_Don't worry, Fara will finish her story about what happened on Titania. We'll also learn more about what Fox and Krystal are up to. Last but not least, we'll find out how all the characters from the last story play into this… starting with Falco, Lucy Hare and her daughter. They're still living on GreatFox with Slippy's son. _

_I already know a little bit of what I wish to write about here. I want to finish Marcus' senior year in the academy. This is just all the wild stuff that happens during that time. Unlike New Generation, which spanned about a season, THIS story will span about a year and a half by the time I finish. Thanks for reading! Chapter two is already several pages long. See ya soon! I hope everyone liked the new direction so far!_

-Kit

* * *

And now… THE FOREWORD, for those who WANT to read it!

**Foreword**:

Wow, this is the sixth REFLECTIONS story. I never intended to write all these pieces or to turn it into a saga. I never intended to go beyond Reflections of Krystal. In fact, I never intended to go beyond the first or second chapter of that story because I was trying to prove a point to my friend. See, no one was reading my other stories, so I said, "If I make a quick short story about Krystal and put her name in the title, it'll do better than my other work." So I began a story about her that started immediately after "SF:Adventures" and so it began. Guess what happened?

Well, of course we _know_ the outcome – the first chapter got more reviews and hits than all my other work. So, to amuse those who were now giving me their attention, I added a second chapter to placate them. The reviews asked for me to continue. The story outgrew the name, "Reflections" by the third or fourth chapter of that title. It was no longer a story about her reflecting on what happened… but now a story about Star Fox.

I continued the storyline with "Reflections of the FUTURE" because I had a few ideas of how I wanted to do the same storyline but make it happen after "SF:Assault" and so that story began. But I felt as though I'd already gotten away from what I'd intended for the first story and got to work on "Reflections of Peppy." I'm slow on updating that one because I really want each chapter to have meaning… but I've made sure that every single chapter is true to its title… each chapter is a short story, told with Peppy as the reflecting narrator.

Invariably, people asked for a story about Fox's life. I never could figure that out – see, other than "FUTURE", which was about the team as a whole, after _SF:Assault_, all the stories have been about Fox McCloud through the eyes of the other characters. First Krystal then Peppy and Marcus. At first, to do a Reflections of Fox McCloud seemed kinda' silly. I could have just-as-easily done a story about Slippy and started the day he and Fox became friends… then went to the academy together… but so many people asked that I decided to make sure I did what most big budget movie makers and huge house-name authors rarely ever do… I wanted to put the reader first. In the end, yeah I kinda' do whatever I want with the story but I always keep myself grounded by remembering that I'm doing this for people who read my work. They're the reason I write, because I'm not the kind of person who does things for myself – I always have to share. I'm an entertainer at heart and I want to entertain YOU, the reader.

I took what the readers wanted and added my own twists. Some people rejected my original ideas, but some grew to like them. For example, Fara Phoenix was a mostly forgotten character. In the attempt to keep my stories somewhat laced with canon, I had to come up with an explanation for WHY Fara Phoenix disappeared from Fox McCloud's life. Well, throw-away characters are often referred to as 'dead characters'… so I killed Fara Phoenix. But I'm old school. I was a Star Fox fan before the Game Cube was on the market, and I was a Star Fox fan before the N64 was on the market. So, of course, I decided to bring her back in the distant future then explain away her absence. That's where I got creative… and to my absolute surprise (and delight), readers fell in love with her. Not all readers, but all the ones who talked to me, at the very least. I'm glad you guys share your thoughts, opinions and your time with me. I'm grateful. I appreciate the contact.

When Marcus ('Star' McCloud) had a tense flirty moment between himself and Fara, fans actually _liked _it. From the first time Fara fell into his arms and slid down into his embrace, face to face… the first time their eyes met, the first time they were close and felt nervous towards one another… fans ate it up. I threw his ex-girlfriend into the mix and described her as hotter than the average chick and a few people felt he should be with Violet instead, but the majority of my readers wanted to see him with Fara Phoenix.

At this point, I'd finally achieved what I intended to do the day I began writing… I made someone – several someones at that – care about my plots and my characters. THEN… "SF: Command" came out for the Nintendo DS. One of the endings revealed the fact that Fox and Krystal name their first born son MARCUS McCLOUD. Many franchise fans thought Fox's son would be 'James', but no one saw _Marcus_ coming. Fair enough, I decided to adapt. I couldn't go back and change his name through the entire story; too much of it was built around his name.

So, I came up with the idea that 'Marcus' was the name of Krystal's father. The senator died when Cerinia was 'doomed', as SF:Adventures so eloquently worded it. Okay, it wasn't really eloquent, so much as concise. Straight and to the point, Cerinia was '_doomed'_. Anyhow, the most surprising thing happened: My original character was now, technically speaking – thanks to a loophole – a bona fide canon character. The reader had the ability to pop in the Star Fox game for the Nintendo DS and, with a little time and effort, see the name "Marcus McCloud" billed as the "son" of "Fox and Krystal" as a result of their "marriage". That means it's directly related to the franchise – it's a Nintendo Intellectual Property – a real deal, genuine, factual Nintendo Star Fox character. Suddenly, 'New Generation' had a larger following.

Had I known, I would have named the character "Marcus" from day one, but there's nothing I can do now… except have my version of Marcus pretend to deny his past to better make it blend with whatever Nintendo decides for him. Of course, it won't match. They won't have Fara as his girlfriend, they won't have Peppy's granddaughter named Vivian, after his wife, they won't have Slippy's son named "Theodore Beltino Toad", after Slippy's father. …But I can hope.

Does anyone KNOW where Beltino got his name from? I'll tell you: Fan Fiction.

Back in the old days, there were two guys who ran the largest Star Fox fansite on the internet. It was called the CORNERIAN MISSION BASE webpage. One of the guys who ran it, Dr. Foxbert, was one of the nicest people I'd ever met in 1996. He posted fan fictions from people like Theodore Perotti (spelling?) and Julie "Vixendreams" G. (Whose last name I won't post here, because she once told me, in 2002, that she no longer likes using her real name because it's not always safe these days.) Needless to say, Theodore was an amazing writer. I was 16 and he was about 28. He, along with several other writers on that website, were using the name "Beltino" as Slippy's father. Occasionally, the name was used by other writers… I began using it. In 1997, 'BELTINO' showed up in the Nintendo Players Guide for StarFox 64, but was never used in the game. Beltino somehow stuck around and when Namco brought him into the storyline for 'SF:Assault', they used BELTINO. So yes, anything is possible. If enough of the fanbase agrees on something, the video game might just adapt it into their canon storylines. I consider that a personal victory for fans because BELTINO was never really mentioned as a name in anything else before being widely used by the fan fiction writers. Some may argue that the 1997 Players Guide was its origin, but I still have the stories I printed out before StarFox 64 was out on the market… I know better.

It's possible those guys knew something I didn't… or they had a Japanese connection to some unknown Japanese comic never released here, where the name was translated from kanji to read as BELTINO… but I'm sure I'd have heard about that sort of thing on the Arwing Landing website… for those of you who don't know, now that the CORNERIAN MISSION BASE page is long gone (Although DrFoxbert is still available in AIM and usually has a lot of the old archive stuff on a diskette somewhere), we now have OUTSTANDING fan pages for background reference.

The two largest pages are very popular with fans. One is the Arwing Landing Net page. (Some remember it as ArwingLanding DOT 'tk', but it's straight up DOT NET now)… and the other one is KrystalArchive DOT com. Dwight House, now known as MrKrystal, is practically a Star Fox fan household name. Why? I guess because he's more public than StealthFox, who runs the ArwingLanding site. I dunno'. But I'll tell you this, ten-to-one, Star Fox fans know the name "Dwight House" and/or 'MrKrystal' over "Kit-Karamak" or even "Ken Weaver". Believe me. And, surprisingly, I'd wager to bet that ArwingLanding is even more popular, because it's such a wealth of Star Fox history and general STUFF. Anyone who googles stuff on Star Fox will eventually find something that links them back to one of those two sites. If, by some strange chance, you've come here to read this story but NEVER heard of those two websites… I encourage you to CHECK THEM OUT. That's KrystalArchive DOT com, and ArwingLanding DOT net. I'm pretty sure both sites have been up since before I wrote _Reflections Of Krystal_ in 2005 – so they're very established.

Okay, I've yammered on enough… several pages – almost two thousand words – reflecting on the Reflections Series. THANK YOU for reading my work, gang. At some point, I'll push my original stories because I do want to shop for publishers. But right now, I'm content to finish what I started in the pursuit of bettering myself. Seriously, I wish to become published. I know not everyone will care for my stories, but …on the other hand… a lot of you have already told me you'd read something original if I ever published it.

Well, you can start by going to FICTIONPRESS dot COM, Fan Fiction Net's sister-site. Search for 'Kit-Karamak', same way, same hyphen. I've only posted one story, which I wrote in 2003. It's called "The Price of Freedom". It's a short story.

Again, thank you for reading – I appreciate that you're all taking your personal time and spending it on my material. That's very humbling to know you're reading this stuff right now. You have my gratitude. Feel free to drop a line at any time! My email address has remained the same for about two years now. RockstarTravesty AT aol DOT com.


	2. Puzzle Pieces

**A/N: **_Long chapter again… I just had a lot to write. I want to wrap up all the stuff concerning these stones and everything that happens before Marcus leaves the Academy… I don't want to write a story about him taking tests while everyone ELSE saves Lylat… That's no fun. So yeah, I'm jamming everything into the first few chapters so it's done and out of the way. Thanks for reading! I really appreciate the reviews thus far! Sorry it took me so long to get chapter 2 up and posted! I deleted almost everything after Falco's scene… and started over with a fresh re-write… SEVERAL times. Lol... So, now, I'm actually happy with the final product of Chapter 2! Enjoy!_

**Chapter -2-  
**"_Puzzle Pieces"_

_Meanwhile_…

**A heavy heat crossed over Falco Lombardi's face**. Three months from his fifty-sixth birthday, he was acting thirty years old and, today, slept in until noon. The dream of his feline wife dissolved, leaving him frustrated at the loss. The aged ace from the last iteration of StarFox, he refused to 'retire' like his friend, Fox McCloud. The avian lifted his right wing, feeling for a control panel on the wall. His fingertips brushed the button and in a stern voice, he said, "Polarize the godforsaken window!" then rolled over with a groan. The rich rays of solar dimmed. Falco placed his arm on the empty side of the mattress. He sighed.

His eyes grew heavy and his deep breathing resumed, wondering how nice it would be to touch another warm body – his thoughts turned back to Katt. He imagined the feel of her back to his torso with the low rumble of her purr… the blissful sound that helped him sleep.

"Falco to the bridge!" The voice cut through the silence like a dissonant chord at a rock concert. "Falco Lombardi, please report to the cruiser-section's bridge."

"Jeeze, OKAY!" he shouted then slapped his palm against the wall panel again. "I'm coming, Theodore! Chill out!"

"You might want to hurry, man. This is big." The tinny voice clipped at the end and the small aluminum speaker grille buzzed from the stress of high volume. Falco reached up and toggled the mute feature then climbed out of bed, grabbing some clothes off the floor.

Minutes later, he stumbled onto the bridge and stalked over to Theodore Toad, Vivian and Lucy Hare. He cut his gaze to the amphibian then to the two rabbits. "Hey girls," he mumbled, canting his head back to Ted. "What's so big that it couldn't wait an hour or two? We're on a vacation, remember?"

"During a routine sensor sweep, ROB located a Saurian spell stone in the asteroid belt. It's at the center of Meteo and there are about six Venom cruisers converging on the belt now. But Sauria hasn't reported any tremors or distress calls about having lost a spell stone. I was thinking, we should go and get it. But only if you're up for fighting six capital ships."

"You're _absolutely sure_ about that?" To his words, the amphibian son of Slippy Toad nodded emphatically. Falco's eyes widened and he ruffled his feathers. "Set a course and go – I'll see you guys on the hanger."

Lucy blinked. "You're in sweatpants and a bathrobe – aren't you going to change first?" A loud humming filled the background. The stars on the view screen stretched into pillars of light.

Falco shrugged, looking rather eager to get back into real action. "Nah. No time; let's blow stuff up." He walked off the bridge and the double doors shut behind him leaving everyone to look at one another. After a moment, all three of them scrambled for the exit. The streaks of white, which decorated the main viewer, shortened back to white dots. At the center, a line of asteroids now filled the screen.

Down on the flight deck, Lombardi drew his canopy shut, securing it. The carrier bay doors rolled on their tracks followed by a pressure hiss from the hydraulic pumps on either side. On the other side of the force field, tiny brown and gray dots filled the void, illuminated by solar.

The other three pilots hurried to their ships while the restored Sky Claw's booster incandesced from plasma buildup. The electromagnetic catapult projected his fighter forward, through the shimmering force field and into the void. Moments later, Lucy, Vivian and Theodore raced off in pursuit.

Vivian's Jack Rabbit blazed passed her mother's ship, the Sky Bunny. Theodore Toad flew his own ship, the Dragonfly, boasting both speed and power over the Sky Claw. Lombardi's voice filled the public channel. "They're moving in! ROB, link the coordinates to our navigation computer. We'll grab this thing first, then fight our way back out. Vivian, use your multi-lock on the asteroids surrounding the stone – it'll confuse the enemy sensors. I'll swoop in, grab the thing while you guys cover me… then it's on. We'll go and stomp their butts. Good plan? Yeah, I like it too. Try and keep up!" He punched his boost and Vivian moved into position alongside.

"How does tiny asteroid debris distract them from the stone?" asked Vivian.

Theodore's voice came over the channel next. "All this metallic debris acts like chaff, interfering with whatever lock their sensors have on the spell stone. Don't fire until you have a confirmed visual so that we don't lose track of it. Falco, you have a multi-lock, too (Seen in SF:C)… after you scoop it up, waste some more asteroids – we can mask our presence until we open fire."

The deep firm voice of Lombardi returned to the channel. "In that case, start blasting these things now – we'll wreck a trail straight to the center of the belt."

Lucy exclaimed, "I have mines! You guys make a go for the stone; I'll go drop mines at the other end of the Meteo belt. They won't be able to see it coming because of the density of the field."

"Mom, separating from the team is dangerous and…"

Falco pressed a button, jamming her signal and interjected, "Do it. Those things always have a reverse degaussed ship that clears a path… take that thing out and the rest of them will sit outside the belt… then we don't have to dogfight among the rocks."

The younger rabbit cleared her throat, testing the channel. Once her signal became un-jammed, she tapped the in-dash microphone. "Wouldn't it be to our advantage to fight them in the rock cover?" asked Vivian.

"That's a big pain," replied Lombardi. "I just wanna waste'em while they're sitting there with their thumbs up their scaly behinds."

Lucy's fighter broke formation and headed into the asteroid belt at a different angle. She set up a computerized vector point but half-way through typing it up her computer changed the flight path. ROB's voice came over a private channel. "Your likelihood of survival increases dramatically if you follow _this_ route, Lucy."

She leaned back in her seat and followed the holographic overlay on her cockpit glass. "Okay, thank you – you're sweet."

Meanwhile, Falco engaged his tractor beam, grappling with the spell stone amidst the cloudy metal debris of asteroid pieces. They pelted his ship and shields like a thick mist, causing his sensors to flicker. "Okay, everyone… I've got the thing – Vivian, come around and use your tractor beam and grab it. I'll open my cargo hatch on the belly – try and guide it in without smashing up my hull."

"Piece of cake," replied the rabbit with a chuckle. She came about and engaged the tractor cannon mounted beneath her ship. Unable to lock onto the stone from the density of scattered iron ore dust, she manually aimed and captured the stone. Then, slowly, she used a joystick jutting from the side of her cockpit to slowly maneuver the stone into a cargo hatch beneath Falco's fighter.

Falco groaned, feeling the vibrations of the stone grinding against his cargo hold's interior lining. "Lucky for me, sound waves can't travel through space or it would sound like a freakin' set of nails on a chalkboard. Careful, will ya?"

"Almost all the way there," said Vivian. "Okay… and… close the hatch!"

Quick to react, Falco mashed a feathery finger down on the button to close his cargo hatch. "Okay, status report! Theodore, what're the 'badguys' doin'? Lucy, have you finished putting the presents under the tree, and Vivian, are we all set?"

Lucy replied first. "They're in place and gift wrapped!"

"We're set," added Vivian. "Mom is the only one here without a multi-lock system. I'll lock on to all the turrets and do a high-powered fly by… I'll disable as many as I can… then you guys do your thing."

Before Theodore could reply next, Falco asked, "Ted, your ship has a multi-lock?"

"Ayup," replied the frog with a drawn out chuckle. "But I have the _plasma cannon_ edition. The Dragonfly is no Lilly pad, old man."

The aging falcon couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's attitude. It was nothing like Slippy; Theodore was calm, collected and gutsy. "Okay, kid. Vivian will make a beeline through the crowd. Lucy, I want you to emerge from the asteroids, fire a few shots then fall back. Make'em follow you to those mines. I'll make the second pass behind Vivian… between the two of us we'll remove all the turrets. Ted, since you've got a multi-lock plasma cannon, I want you to target bridges and engines on all six ships. Make a run then come back through and hit all the same targets again. We'll all disappear in the asteroid cover and watch'em hit the mines. Once they're down, we'll close in for the kill."

Lucy said, "You're getting good at this, Falco. You used to just run in with guns blazing and cross your fingers but now you have a plan."

"Aw, gee. Let's just blow these things up already!" Falco lead the team to the edge of the belt, shooting random asteroids along the way. The thick concentration of metallic dust cloaked them from the enemy. "Ted, if things go sour, I want you to engage your stealth cloak field, cover the girls and take'em back to the ship."

"A'ite, not a problem. Okay, Vivian… you're first."

"Here we go," she said before punching her throttle. The Jack Rabbit engines roared to life and broke from the asteroid cover. She opened fire, wavering from left to right to lock on as many defense turrets as possible then fired again. She darted and weaved to avoid anti-aircraft rounds then, after passing the last ship, she engaged her boost. The twin engine exhaust ports behind her fighter became a dazzling hue of light blue, nearly white.

Lucy and Falco's ship broke their cover, both firing in unison. Lombardi blazed a trail up the center of the small attack fleet while Lucy pulled a wide vertical u-turn and headed back towards the safety of the asteroid belt. Next, Theodore's ship rumbled forth, targeting six bridges. He fired on each command center then he re-targeted the enemies, shooting at their engine sections. Vivian blazed by him, heading back towards the asteroid cover. Next, Falco zipped passed him, firing on several remaining turrets.

Theodore blew by the last large ship then he turned about and fired, again, on all the engine sections. He relocked on every command section and, just before disappearing into the asteroids with the rest of the squadron, he fired one last time. All four fighters disappeared.

The small attack fleet converged on the front line of asteroids and fell into line. Unmanned Attack Vehicles launched from each of the six cruisers. They raced into the asteroid belt, followed by the line of capital ships. The StarFox team adapted to the new situation by leaving the safety of the Meteo field. They unloaded on the line of heavy cruisers, targeting all known weak points. Falco led the pack, running down the line with Lucy, Vivian and Theodore behind.

"Okay, in a few seconds, those UAVs are going to come after us. Get as many hits in on these big lugs while you can then we'll clean up their fighter cover."

"This is an insult," said Ted. "Using unmanned enemy fighters? I thought Venom was overflowing with reptile cannon fodder?"

Lombardi opened fire again. "Whatever, let's just blow these things up and get out of here. I'm starting to get a little low on fuel."

Lucy said, "I'm still twelve minutes to bingo. Let's waste these things."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Falco said in a boisterous tone. One of the ships at the center of the line shifted wildly. An explosion rocked the starboard side followed by another from the main engines. It collided with the ship behind it, sending both off course.

"Hell yeah!" cried the avian. "Look at it go! I'm so freakin' glad I got out of bed today. Oh _yeah_! Let's make another flyby at a different angle… These things might not even make it to the mines in the belt!"

"No, look," Vivian told them. "The first one is heading into the asteroids now. I'm activating their remote standby feature. They're about to go active." She paused then said, "Okay, the mines are live!"

The first ship brushed by an asteroid, heading into the dense field. After a short moment, it disappeared within the dense belt, followed by the second ship. The third one exploded in a flash of bright line, forcing the fourth ship in the line to pitch wildly out of control. The team converged on the fifth and sixth cruisers, attacking them from every conceivable angle.

A massive detonation illuminated the asteroid belt, casting a spotted shadowy glow against the hull of the two surviving ships. Just then, the unmanned fighters broke free of the Meteo belt and opened fire on the team. Falco laughed over the audio channel. "These little things are a joke! I've got the fighter cover – Ted, you've got the bigger guns, take out the last two cap-ships."

"I'm on it," replied the amphibian. He set his sights on the remaining two heavy cruisers and opened fire. Vivian came alongside of him and joined in on unloading against the side of both remaining vessels.

"What now?" asked Lucy.

"Crap, I don't know," said Falco. "Giving orders really sucks. Just cover me or whatever. I don't need to get shot down – I've got the damn cargo. Let's go after the fighter cover – leave them to work on the big ships. Does that work for you? It sure works for me!"

"Well then," she replied… "I suppose the only thing appropriate to say would be… _Hammer down!_"

With Theodore and Vivian side by side, Lucy formed on Falco's port wing and, together, they took the unmanned attack vehicles head on. They opened up the main guns, spraying a volley of blaster fire throughout the void, destroying multiple targets. Falco zigzagged to evade their return fire.

Another cruiser veered wildly off course. A detonation from its belly rocked the ship, exposing the keel. Multiple explosions dotted along the hull from multiple hull breaches. Another blast ruptured from the bridge area, followed by an awesome flash. The plasma engine drive ignited then the entire ship blew apart.

The sixth ship hailed all four fighters. "Cease your attack and we'll discuss terms!"

Falco broke into laughter. "Are you serious? You guys are surrendering? We're not pirates, you morons! Geeze, what a bunch of jokers."

"Our small crew is prepared to make arrangements if necessary. You've decimated the first five ships in only a few moments. Please break off your attack; we're no longer armed and cannot defend ourselves."

"Aw _man_," he groaned in reply. "Okay team, form up – we'll escort this thing back towards the GreatFox then… Man, I don't know – turn it over to the Katina or Cornerian authorities, or something." He sighed then reestablished the link to the cruiser and said, "Okay, you weenies. We'll let you throw in the towel. No funny stuff or I won't hesitate to fire a smart missile right up your engine boosters. Give me a damage and casualty report."

The venom cruiser began to change direction away from the asteroids. "Two dead in engineering, one turret operator dead… seventeen wounded crewmen – our shields have collapsed and we're unarmed. We have a fire just forward of our galley, abaft our engine room."

Falco's ship moved above the large vessel. Vivian moved beneath it with Lucy and Theodore covering the port and starboard side, respectively. Lombardi opened a channel to the GreatFox on a private band. "ROB, we've got the spell stone and cut the rug with a bunch of lizard boats. Five cruisers down and we've captured a sixth. We're going to hand-deliver these bums to the nearest military outpost. Find one. Then, contact Marcus so he can send out a bill – I wanna get paid for this stuff."

"GreatFox is converging on your position, Falco. Almost all of you left without fueling your ships. Theodore was the only one who…"

"Shut up – that's the last thing on my mind when I'm not flying. What's your ETA?"

"Seven minutes, Falco." ROB closed the channel to the team and opened one to a Katina outpost not far from their position. He arranged for an interrogation crew to take over upon arrival, thanked the communication officer then reopened the channel to StarFox. "It appears there is an open military investigation regarding a large Venom operation in connection to the spell stone. There are three more, none-of-which are related to the ones on Sauria."

"Figure out what's going on then call Marcus and tell the kid what's up." Falco squinted, seeing a small dot in the distance. "I've got visual of the GreatFox. Lucy, you're the lowest on fuel, so… ladies first."

Lucy and Vivian both broke formation from the over-sized Venom corvette and raced towards the GreatFox. Lombardi opened a channel to Theodore. "Looks like you remembered to fill your tank yesterday. You stay out here with this thing while we guide it back to an outpost. I'm going to land and unload that spell stone thing. Don't worry… I don't plan on turning it over to the outpost. You can tinker with it or whatever. I won't let go of this thing until Corneria trades it for a very _large_ check."

Theodore chuckled. "See you in a bit. I suggest ya' go and get yourself dressed before we arrive at the outpost."

"Yeah, yeah." Falco hit the throttle and followed the two female rabbits back to the GreatFox Flying Fortress. Theodore engaged the autopilot and stretched out a bit.

_The next morning…_

**Fara lowered her eyes from the video screen.** "It won't be as long of a job as last time," she said in an endearing voice. "I hope you do well on your midterm exam."

Marcus leaned back in his chair. His image distorted for a moment, cleared and sharpened. "It's all right. It's rather sudden, though. Does it have anything to do with last night's attack on my room?"

"Very indirectly, sweetheart. Intelligence was fascinated by my report and, when I woke up this morning, I had a literal short story worth of orders waiting for me. They combined my information with whatever they gathered from a captured ship that Falco brought in recently. Anyhow, you were right – they weren't after me; they were after _you_. But here's the reason why." She tapped a few keys on her keyboard and the screen paused. The video image lagged for several seconds then pixilated. After a moment, the feed cleared and she said, "Sorry, I had to engage the encryption software. So it seems your parents are doing just fine. In fact, they stumbled across one of the stones like that one I retrieved on Titania. They left Sauria and went to an outpost somewhere between Macbeth and Venom… and disappeared. The brainiacs and number crunchers down at HQ have reason to believe your parents have _two_ stones. They think Venom tried to abduct you so they could trade you for the stones your parents have. However, no one knows the whereabouts of Fox and Krystal because they went into hiding. Even Corneria lost contact with them on official channels. Whether or not Bill has spoken to them recently, I can't say for sure. His last official contact was five days ago. In order to keep Venom from kidnapping you so they can obtain the stones, an agent I've trained will act as your body guard. They've been in place for four hours now."

Marcus leaned forward at his desk. His nose enlarged on the screen. "I've not met him – he's protecting me _now_?"

"_She_ is protecting you now. There are _two_ agents, actually. Both are female. Initially I was going to train an entire group of _nine_ people – counting me the project would have been ten agents strong. However, Asper created an initial situation by refusing to participate in combat against one of the females. She's young… about twenty-one. Her name is Kenton Miramar. Because I had to train the males and the females separately, I became too busy to see you for those two months. Now you understand why. Anyhow, Kenton isn't a graduate just yet. She's in your area with an experienced operations agent… ironically, that woman knew your father, too. She's older than she looks but, about four years ago, I started teaching her what I knew from _my_ training. Last month, she retired from being a starship captain – twenty-five years with the fleet. Like I said, she looks too young to have a retirement pension. She'll be your only contact if any is made at all. I'd prefer if that didn't happen."

"Fara, I'd feel more comfortable if I got to meet them. Who are they, exactly?"

Phoenix shifted her weight, glanced over her shoulder then offered a lopsided smile. "Miramar was the girl Asper refused to fight – which turned into the reason I knocked him out that one time. Right now, he's pretty damn pleased with himself for standing by his beliefs in the matter. As it turns out, I've just learned that Kenton is about two and a half – maybe three – months pregnant. He told me that if he had followed my orders, he would have hit a pregnant female. He expressed concern that it might have caused her to miscarry before she would have even known she had conceived. She won't be an active agent in your protection; she'll be acting as a recon operator while you're asleep. Nothing more than what Mall Security does overnight."

"And the other?"

"You'll see." Fara's slight grin turned into a soft smile. "I'll tell her to approach you so you feel, you know, more comfortable. Either way, their job is Cornerian sanctioned. The Government doesn't want you getting kidnapped because it would cause them to lose two stones when Fox and Krystal resurface. Anyhow, I'm on the clock now… I'm taking one of the male recruits to a Venom-owned military compound on Eladard. Most of that planet is neutral but a base just south of the equator seems to be on the paycheck of one _Dash Bowman_. We think it's a test lab for a prototype engine used on something big."

Marcus glanced over his shoulder furtively then lifted a paw, gesturing her to give him a moment. His forearms disappeared from view and text showed up on her monitor beneath the video feed. It read, '_The Core Base they're building in orbit above Venom? I know it's supposed to be "only a rumor" because the big object our military spotted turned out to be an asteroid caught in an orbital pattern above Venom… but c'mon, everyone knows better.'_

Fara sighed then placed her paws on a keyboard and began typing. '_Yes, Marcus, the reason for that is because the "asteroid" was a hollowed-out meteor. They lowered it to the Venom Sea to keep it secret… now a team of scientists are working on the engine system from a lab on Eladard. We think they're using data from the stone Venom took from Fichina and building something powerful… big, grand. But now that Fox and Krystal came in, swiped their stone then disappeared, it's difficult to say. Everything we're talking about is highly classified so I can't really go into this right now. I'm disengaging the encryption software, sweetheart.'_ She cleared her throat then said, "Marcus, I love you. Take good care of my friend and her apprentice if you guys come under attack again."

"Thanks for giving me the heads up today. Yeah, I looked forward to seeing you this afternoon but I fully understand. Good luck on your mission – I'll put a small bowl of rice out by the statue on the campus temple grounds."

The fennec offered a brilliant smile. "You don't have to go through all of that for me. I'll be fine. Besides, it's been generations since our species integrated into the mainstream beliefs."

The fox on her screen offered a slight shrug. "Dad was never vocal about it but that's the reason his aviator scarf is red. The least I can do is give some rice to the messenger and ask for your safe return."

"You're sweet to me," she replied. "I'd better go. I'll see you when we get back." She glanced over her shoulder again then added, "My _recruit_ is getting restless and bored so I'm going to go and torment him with a mission briefing. Good luck on your midterm."

"I'll do fine. Have a safe trip – love you." The channel closed on Marcus' end, leaving Fara with a ghostly reflection of herself on the glossy screen. She turned around, folded her paws and placed them on the wrap-around desk. Her eyes landed on Asper.

"Isn't that sweet? He said he loves you, Miss Phoenix."

"Do you know why you're here, Gunnery Sergeant?" Fara glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the empty transport hanger, watching the entrance to the cockpit to make sure no one would open the door. Satisfied their conversation was private, her eyes shifted back to the hybrid reptile. "Do you _know_ why I chose you over Lex and Frank?"

"Because of my performance on Titania?" Asper folded his hands behind his back.

"You're the _only_ agent in training to whom I would trust my life when in the field. If a group of soldiers got the drop on us, I know you'd react with a calm demeanor and would follow up the way you've learned. The canine and feline are good – they'll make great agents in the future… but neither of them feels ready to come under fire in such personal conditions. They'd respond like a commando first and a covert operative second. And, since I doubt I'll be ordering you to fight a squad of females, I shouldn't have any problems with you on this mission."

The cold-blooded hybrid lifted his chin a bit. "If you _ever_ overlook me for a mission because the priority target is a female…" he trailed off then grinned and said, "I won't hold it against you."

"Fair enough, S.G. Sarnoff. They'll drop us at the L.Z. in four hours. Take a nap – that's an order."

"I'm feeling rather restless, _Instructor_ Phoenix."

She narrowed her gaze and pointed to a canvas rack suspended against the wall. "_Now_ Gunny. Your rest is a priority to me so I insist. Who knows what we'll come up against on Eladard, so do me a favor and follow orders… please?"

Asper turned towards the uncomfortable looking cot on the wall. "Not to complain but I don't need a stiff neck or back before starting a mission. I'll pass."

Fara glanced at the suspended cot. She couldn't fault his reasoning – she knew how uncomfortable they could be. "The chairs on the bridge are mesh backed with microfiber armrests. They have lumbar supports and tilt controls… I don't care where you do it, just go get some rest."

"All right," he said and headed up to the front of the transporter shuttle.

**Crimson O'Donnell leaned back on the sofa in Sugar's room** and rubbed his fingertip against the last digit on the communicator pad. He paused to debate with himself but a nudge from his roommate finally helped him find his nerve. He dialed the last digit and waited for someone on the other end to pick up the line. His heart sank, seeing his father's face over the monitor.

"Well if it isn't the wayward son." Wolf turned his head and, to someone off camera, said, "C'mere – come see the 'prodigal one'. He almost looks halfway respectable on a monitor."

"Hey dad," said Crimson. "I talked to Bliss a little while ago and she told me something that's been bothering me. I actually wanted to talk to mom."

"She's here, too." Wolf canted his head to someone off screen. "She says she's kinda' glad her son and daughter still talk to one another without her having to bitch at you two for forgetting that you're all family."

"I'll get right to the point then." He licked his lips then sighed. "Remember when that crazy doppelganger chick stunned me on Fichina and, because Marcus thought she killed me, he ran her through with her own staff?" (C14 RoaNG)

Wolf nodded. "Serves her right – it's the _only_ thing that McCloud boy has ever done that I can respect. You treat him like family and claim he feels the same, so it was his duty to kill your attacker. That's what family does."

"Well, Bliss says that somehow Bowman brought her back to life. I want to tell him but there's so much going on right now that even _I_ would need to set an appointment with security to knock on his apartment door. My other option is to file a complaint about her and wait for the Government to launch an investigation to see if she's still alive – I'd have to go through proper channels to tell him what's going on because that's the law."

Wolf O'Donnell narrowed his gaze. His bionic eye dilated to match his natural iris then he snorted. "I heard in the news that all classes have been suspended for five days – kids were telling reporters they were glad so they could study for the upcoming midterms. That gives you five days to take care of business for your boy. Anything less would be doing a disservice against him."

"But I need a team to track her down. StarFox just came across one of those stone things everyone is so anxious about and they're in orbit as a means of defense… just in case things hit the fan. Besides, I'm kinda' upset because that chick is alive. She humiliated me. My only real option is to appeal to the law to investigate her existence just so word of it will reach Marcus. I'm literally cut off from him right now – he's _that _protected. This fox chick – Kursed or whatever she calls herself – is telepathically capable of hunting him down. Moreover, I'm angry she duped me."

"She made a mistake by letting you live, kid." Wolf sighed and walked off camera. "One sec." The line went silent. After a moment a vixen stepped on screen.

"Hey, brat."

"Hi, mom."

Nicky offered a wry grin to her son. "I'm not _too badass_ to tell you I'm proud you've decided to get a damn education. It's about time, too. Honestly, I approve of it. Your father dropped out, your sister was a valedictorian. I was afraid you'd be the black sheep who decided not to bother with it. So, 'ja yiff that lapin roommate of yours yet?"

Crimson's eyes widened a bit and he put a paw over the speaker, shifting nervous eyes over to Sugar. "…Mom, chill would you? What should I do about that Kursed chick?"

"Code of Honor, rule four. Anyhow, if I were you, I'd tag that cottontail before she hooks up with someone and starts bringing dudes over to your apartment. Trust me… it'll be awkward sharing your tiny two-room pad with some random swingin' Dick – Harry or Tom."

"Not a good time for _that_ pep talk, ma'."

"Yeah, whatever," said Nicky. "Here comes your father." She stepped away and her image was replaced with Wolf again.

"A'right, carrot top, I'm going to read it the way I worded it in my handwritten rulebook. 'Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of himself without that law is both. For a wounded man, in pride or in body, shall say to his assailant, "If I Live, I will kill you. If I die, you are forgiven." Such is the fourth _Rule of Honor_.' Furthermore, you prove your honor and manliness by _not _going to the authorities. I don't care if she's your deadliest enemy – it's your job to settle the score. Like I said, she let you live so she made a mistake. If you can't get the job done in the next five days, don't worry. You'll get your chance. I know you don't live by an Omertà like we do, but you'd do well to try it."

"You don't understand – Marcus is like a brother to me. He even sought to avenge me when he thought she shot me dead (C14 RoaNG). He deserves to take her down, too."

Wolf snorted. "You do it together, then. And he's not your brother, so quit being so damn dense. A first cousin or something, maybe, but…"

A feminine voice came from over Wolf's end of the transmission. "Will you cut that crap out? Goddamn, that's how rumors get started, Wolf! That's why he and his sister are asking questions."

Wolf groaned, offered his son a flat glare then turned his head to the left. "Will you shut the hell up, Nicole? Who gives a rat's ass what anyone thinks?"

Her reply sounded distant as though she were across the room from the communicator. "One word, O'Donnell. 'Withhold.' Keep it up and you're going to know that word _real_ good."

Crimson cut his eyes over to Sugar, sitting on the bed looking at him. He sighed in embarrassment then said, "Dad, mom, I've got to go. Thanks for the advice, pop. Here's some for you: Don't teach your daughter how to swindle you out of a container of dangerous metal worth a few trillion credits. It's a good thing that never got out or you'd be the laughing stock of hoodlums everywhere."

"Y'know what you little twerp? You can piss off." Wolf reached a paw up to the controls above the camera. His visual feed ended and the monitor dimmed.

The hybrid wolf-fox grinned in relief. "I knew that would get him to end the call.

"You two really know how to push each other's buttons." Sugar lifted her paw and thumbed the remote control to deactivate the television mounted on her wall. "Your mother amuses me."

"She's weird," he mused thoughtfully. "Anyhow, my father says I shouldn't go to Bill Grey about my sister's information. I guess I'll try this honor thing and whatnot. I mean, it makes sense to a degree – if Grey and his people take her down, they get that credit… that satisfaction of doing the job. If I don't say anything, StarFox could collect a fee for dispatching her as a targeted threat. I like the idea of taking her down as a bounty for collection."

The creamy-furred rabbit rolled onto her side, facing Crimson over on the sofa. "I've not heard of any burning cities on the news. I guess that means it's either a false rumor or she's in hiding. Either way, it doesn't make much sense to run across Lylat when you have a huge test in five days. So, you wanna go get a few drinks and watch a movie tonight?"

Red pushed a paw into his pocket and withdrew a few credits. "I'm in."

**The empty hallway suddenly felt like an inviting place to be**. Marcus made his way to the stairs then crossed the lobby with a small bag of rice in his right paw. He reached for the handle of the front doors when, out of nowhere, a paw clamped over his forearm. He turned his head, coming face to face with an aristocratic, middle-aged looking feline. Her ears were bobbed and her bright eyes held an expression of authority. "Going somewhere, flyboy?"

"I…" He blinked twice. "Fara was right; you look too young to be retired."

"I served my time as a starship captain – that's old news and I left it behind."

He studied her for a moment probing her mind for a name… any name, a place to start. "Yes but your father, Michael Lynx, served as a starship captain (C4 RoPeppy) until the day he was promoted. He served until he passed away. What made you want to step out of his pawprints, Miss Lynx?"

"Wow, my maiden name… Fara was right – you _are _telepathic. But for the sake of my ex-husband having died in the attack on Corneria last season, we'll just stick with _Miss Lynx_."

"Fara said you knew my father?"

Miyu tilted her head then nodded. "Like my name, we'll just leave that little detail alone. So, you learned _that_ from Fara, huh? Are you telling me you can't sense anything unless it's somehow relevant, in my conscious or subconscious mind?"

"That's the gist of it, so be careful what you think about around me." He tugged his wrist from her paw with a slight smirk and asked, "Why can't I go outside? I wanted to put something out by the kitsune statue and…"

"You're a priority target," she replied, placing her paws on her hips. "You can't go out in public or sit near a window for _three days_. Get used to it. I'll have my sidekick do all of your shopping so if you want munchies, make a list. If you want fresh air, open your eight inch by ten inch bathroom window and sit in the tub with your head low. This is far more serious than you realize." Her subconscious thoughts on the situation gave her away to his Cerinian birthright.

Marcus' eyes widened, detecting the faint thought at the back of her mind. "Fara has a secondary objective of retrieving the stones from my parents to deliver them to the Cornerian Government? So when that happens and Corneria goes public with it, I'm free to wonder around the campus grounds again?"

Her eyes widened. She reached for his right bicep and shoved him back across the lobby. "Upstairs _now_, Mister McCloud. Don't go spouting everything you hear in people's brains. The public has ears, if you know what I mean. Come with me – if you behave, I'll…" She shrugged, trying to think of something in which he might be interested. "…Tell you how I once flew as a member of StarFox for a short period of time, okay? Just don't go spewing information because you _never_ know who is listening." The two headed for a nearby stairwell and ascended to the second floor.

McCloud smirked at her. "I'll look up your name using the Cornerian web – I'm sure _someone_ has documented every pilot who has flown under the StarFox name."

Miyu gave him a somewhat playful shrug. "Later. For now, let's go back to your room. There's a change of plan – I'll be staying in your room with you just to make sure you don't go sneaking off and causing trouble like your father." They took the steps two at a time.

"How did my father cause trouble?"

"Corneria deported him to Papetoon (C1 RoFM) while he was still a minor – why? Because he spoke out against the wishes of the current acting military leaders. Then, just to start trouble and put egg on their faces, he shouted until everyone on Papetoon heard his message. Not with his voice – no, he had a far less subtle way."

At the top of the stairs, he opened the door to the hallway for her and she walked through. She glanced from left to right then nodded to proceed. Marcus followed her back towards his room. "What's less subtle than shouting with his voice?"

"Shouting with a gun," she said with a smirk. "He blew up every Venom supply ship he could find (C7 RoFM). Believe me, it got him noticed. Either way, I don't want you starting trouble because this is for your own good. Just lay low and study for your test. Keep a low profile and stay calm. I'll have Kenton fetch me a sleeping bag – I want to position myself by the entrance door."

"I don't need help, Miss Lynx. I can sense when an attacker is near."

"Like you did when Fara saved your tail yesterday?" Miyu grinned and stopped in front of his door. She held a paw out expectantly. Marcus offered his keycard. She opened the door, gave him back the card then stepped into the room first. After a moment she jerked her head as a gesture for him to enter.

"This is just strange. I don't need protection. I can stay on GreatFox until the day of the midterms. That's five days on a heavily armed ship. You said this will blow over in _three _days. What's the big fuss?"

"Sure, put your team in danger," she scolded. "All it takes is one Cornerian supply ship bringing food, supplies and daily mail to your front door. You open the hanger bay then _bam_, you're assassinated. Seriously, just hang out and study for the next few days. I brought you something to do."

Marcus stepped into his room, seeing a duffle bag on the floor next to a box. He furrowed his brows and approached the cardboard container. "If you needed my card key to get in just now then how did this stuff get here?" He opened the lid and his eyes widened. Inside sat an old game console and all his favorite games including the dusty one he hid in his secret stash spot on GreatFox (C3 – RoaNG). Along with the slightly out-dated video game console, some of his old belongings lined the box.

"I _hid_ some of this stuff so that _no one_ would find it. How did you…?"

She shut the door once they were both inside the room then said, "You told Fara about your stash spot. I found a ridiculously _old_ teenager magazine, too." She noted his awkward expression then frowned at him. "Don't be embarrassed; if it makes you feel any better, I still own my first copy of PlayVixen just because some of the boys in there were hot. I have no idea where it is but it's packed away in my girly teenage belongings."

"No," he muttered, raking a paw through the box. "Knowing you found that does _not_ make me feel any better. I should have thrown it away when we located the cruiser on Sauria. If _you_ could find it, my mother can find it. …Enough said." His eyes dropped back to the box, glad the magazine wasn't in it. '_I can just hear her lecture now – '_Your father and I BOTH passed the_ "purity of heart tests" _on Sauria. Having pornography isn't very _pure of heart_ – what did I do wrong to raise a boy who looks at nude women and has a child out of wedlock? And just look at these shooting games you had as a boy!_' I need to get back to GreatFox and get rid of this crap – I'm too old for some of these… oh man!_' His eyes widened, seeing one of his all-time favorite titles among the game collection. '_Okay, maybe I'm not TOO old…_'

"You're a grown adult now, McCloud." Miyu rolled her eyes. "Heck, my father found mine when I was fifteen. Know what he said?" She grinned and, before he could answer, told him, "He said, '_Damn, my little girl is growing up. Well, at least you're buying a periodical instead of sneaking boys up to your bedroom. I won't stop you._' Then he let me go my merry way. Now, listen Marcus, we're going to be ordering delivery food, watching movies and studying for your midterm – if you don't like it, that's too bad. I promised Fara I wouldn't let you get tagged by a sniper or shanked by a hoodlum out to make some cash. I suggest you relax and find something to do right here…"

"All right." He nodded and ran his fingers back through his headfur. "You have my cooperation, Miss Lynx."

_Twenty-four hours later_…

**The complex, plain and obscure, stood out from the rest of the city landscape**. By comparison, the nearby interstate glowed in neon blue lining, the commercial district skyscrapers twinkled with fantastic coloration and numerous digital advertisement signs dotted the area. Their target, a drab two story complex, sat in the shadow of luxury apartments and tall office buildings. Initially designed to be ordinary and easy to overlook, it was now anything but.

Fara Phoenix and Asper Sarnoff sat Indian style, back to back, on the rooftop of a fueling station across the street. They were wrapped in a soft see-thru blanket, which electronically cloaked their physical appearance. Fara held binoculars to her face, whispering to Asper. Remaining silent, he notated her every word in shorthand writing. The fennec paused, panning the binoculars from one end of the complex to the other. "No side door on this end, either," she told him in a hushed tone. He wrote, '_No entrance or exit on west side'_ then lowered the beam of a pen light, wedged between his teeth, to the page. He reread the notes then brought the pen back to the paper.

After another moment, Fara said, "Seven window panes on first floor, six on second floor with metal grating at the center. It's probably the exhaust for the ductwork. Due in part the proximity to the rooftop, it could be a viable escape in an emergency – assessment of use: moderate danger."

Behind her, Asper wrote out her last statement, checked the page then paused again.

"I see an obscure object on a pole at the northwest corner. No sign of surveillance equipment." She blinked then zoomed in on the pole and added, "It's possible there's a gun turret but the pole is collapsed on a hinged joint – suggest placing a chaff device in that corner just in case." She waited to give Asper a moment to write everything then told him, "Your patience has paid off, Gunny. I think we're done casing this building. We'll infiltrate at seven-thirty in the morning."

"That's a strange hour; why not go now while they have a minimum staff?"

Phoenix crossed her eyes for a moment. "Ever been here before, Sarnoff?"

"I never had a reason to visit Eladard." He closed the small notebook and clicked the base of his penlight. "Why?"

"This is a densely populated planet," she noted. "At half-passed seven in the morning, the tired night shift will be ready for bed. The bleary-eyed morning crew won't yet be fully awake. And, because of heavily snarled rush-hour traffic, the response time for backup forces to arrive is… very poor. The skies are cluttered with commuters and mass transit, the ground is swamped with hover cars, bumper to bumper. As we were leaving Corneria yesterday, I phoned in a hoax robbery for _this_ gas station," she said, patting the roof of the fueling station beneath them. "I called the station a few hours later from our transporter and told them I was with the 'county emergency services logistical survey team' and asked what time emergency vehicles responded. They showed up fifty-five minutes after I called for them. Keep in mind, beyond MPs, military units don't have emergency flashing lights on their vehicles. But they're aggressive and force their way around traffic, so… I'm going to shoot for a forty-five minute response time. To be safe, we'll give ourselves twenty-five minutes leeway from the time they hit their alarm."

"So, what now?"

"We rest. In the morning, we'll break in, steal the plans and install a computer virus in their network. Then we'll meet up with someone, recover a package and head back to Corneria. Your job is simple. You're my extraction support. When I have the core base plans and plant the virus, I'll call you in. From then on out, your mission is very simple – keep me alive under any circumstances."

"In other words, create a diversion, swoop in and shoot everyone. Borderline suicide mission; my question is, civilian and science casualty level – what's acceptable?"

"Corneria has labeled this a black operations mission. We don't exist, we're not here. Whoever you shoot, it wasn't done by you. But for the sake of humanity, don't make this fueling station your diversion. Now, because I'm not a cold..." She paused, deciding not to use the term 'cold blooded', "Cold-hearted killer, I'm going to request that you don't light up the scientists. Some of them were forced to work for Imperial Venom and don't want to be here, so... Again, one last time for the cheap seats, don't blow up the gas station."

Asper turned about, looking over his shoulder at her. "How did…?"

"…Hush," she interjected. "Close your eyes – try not to squirm around for the next few hours."

He glowered in response. "Scales, cold blood – I don't need to shift my position when I'm asleep. Furthermore, I don't…"

"You don't toss or turn, that's all you needed to tell me." A sly grin crept across the vixen's muzzle. She closed her eyes, leaned against his back and took a deep breath, willing herself into a relaxed state of alpha.

**Asper's amber eyes snapped open**. He glanced from left to right then lifted his head, looking up into the pupil-less glowing green gaze of a large fish-like being. Adjacent to the Anglar, a lithe hooded person stood with a stoic demeanor. On the other side of the burly aquatic man, two reptilian guards had their pistols drawn. He looked over his shoulder but appeared to be otherwise alone.

"Planning to break into the complex, soldier?" asked Zazan.

The hybrid reptile stood up, folding then refolding the wings behind his back. He crossed his arms over his chest then looked at the assembled cast of four, weighing all possible options. He closed a finger into the scaly palm of his hand. His fingernail brushed over a button on his wrist, remaining discrete so that Fara would hear the conversation, wherever she was. "So, Anglars are behind this crap… I never saw _that_ coming. After I kill you four, I'll finish my mission."

"Don't be a fool," said Zazan. "I'm surprised – what caused a Venom lizard to betray his homeworld?"

"I was born and raised on Katina, you slob. Let's get this over with before I lose my patience."

Zazan placed his fin-like hands upon his hips. "Guards, kill him." Both men responded by lifting their pistols to arm's length. They took aim and fired.

Asper leapt at their feet then opened his wings wide. The talon-tipped wingspan struck their pistols, throwing both guns over the side of the rooftop. He jumped to his feet, shouldering one down and shoving the other over the edge. They responded with a short scream, which ended abruptly.

With a quick pivot, he performed a roundhouse kick, breaking the other guard's jaw. He followed through with his other foot in a sloppy jump kick. Asper's heel caught the man in his sternum, sending him over the edge as well. The winged reptilian agent spun about to face Zazan. He drew two handguns and pointed them at the Anglar henchman. "It's time for you two to die. I have a schedule to keep."

"Hold," said the hooded being in a soft voice. "Zazan – you have business in which you must attend. I'll handle this one."

"Are you sure, my liege?"

The hooded one nudged him in the arm. "Go on."

Asper fired one of the pistols, striking Zazan in the chest. The Anglar groaned from the pain of taking brunt force trauma in his armored vest. The hybrid avian cocked his head in a bird-like mannerism. "I didn't say you could leave. Now hold still before I turn you into a sushi buffet." He lifted the pistol so the barrel was even with the Anglar's face.

The hooded person lifted their right arm. Their index finger met the metallic barrel of his gun. Energy current passed through his weapon and into his body. Asper launched across the roof, skittering to a halt at the other end. He got to his knees slowly with a groan.

"You're dismissed, Zazan. I'll handle this one. Remove the bodies of our men from the street then ready the ship for Venom. I want to have all four of those stones as soon as possible." The cloaked figure pointed to the access hatch. Zazan reopened the hatch and descended the ladder.

Asper got to his feet and broke into a sprint. He spread his wings, jumped into the air and dove at the hooded enemy. Calmly, they lifted their arms, snagged his collar in midair then slammed him into the roof on his back. They placed a foot against his neck.

He reached his hands up, closing his fingers tightly around their ankle. He strained his arms in order to take pressure off of his throat then used the wings on his back to propel himself upwards. The maneuver knocked the assailant back just enough that he could sit up. He kicked his leg at their feet but they jumped over his sweep as though they anticipated it. He made a jab for their waistline but they blocked his attempt with ease.

Feeling challenged, Asper came back to his feet and threw two punches, a series of low kicks then followed up with a hard roundhouse. To his surprise, they blocked every maneuver. The hooded figure captured his leg in mid kick then shoved him down onto the gritty surface. "Impressive fighting technique," said the stranger in an eerily soprano voice.

"I don't have time for this," he snapped in reply. He mashed down the button on his sleeve, tucking the control into his right palm to keep it depressed. He reached for one of the pistols on his right thigh and drew it, firing in one smooth action.

The figure sidestepped as though they already knew just where he would fire. His shot missed. They smacked the gun from his grip then backhanded him with a surprising amount of force. His body was thrown into a back flip. He landed on his stomach with a groan then sat up. "I've never been manhandled in physical combat before. I'm not going to lie – I'm impressed and struggling to accept this with grace. All right, let's go at it again." He stood up then charged the person once more. They waited without moving a muscle until he was right upon them. Then, without warning, they struck him in the face, simultaneously took him by the neck and flipped him. He found himself on his stomach with his head hanging over the edge. The two story drop blurred before his amber hues for a split second. He clinched his eyes then forced himself back to his knees. He pushed his body up on his arms then opened his wings, feeling the right one make contact with the enemy.

They stumbled then kicked him in the ribs while he was down. "I will kill you, lizard." The mysterious attacker waited until he began to stand up before kicking his left leg out from beneath him. Then, before he could react, the cloaked figure brought a knee to his face. He rolled onto his side, too close to the edge for comfort.

Through gritted teeth and with a taunting voice, Asper said, "You haven't been fighting people in this kind of situation for very long, have you? I doubt you have or you would've killed me by now. You possess impressive talent but you're still greener than me…" He tilted his head and struggled back up to his knees again. A thought occurred… "Either that or you _like_ toying with people."

"Good things come to those who are patient," said the being. The figure drew back their cloak displaying a dainty feminine face. His eyes widened in response.

"…Mrs. McCloud?" He remembered her from the attack on Aquas (C30 RoaNG) and leered at her for a moment then blinked. She looked somewhat younger than he remembered of Marcus' mother. He struggled back to his feet.

With a quick thrust, she struck him in the face, dazing him. "No, but I've heard of her," said the woman who kicked at his knees before he could ready himself. The winged reptile went back down to the gritty rooftop with a groan. She grinned and reproached him with a scolding tone. "I don't have time for games, worthless male slug – we end this _now_." She withdrew a gun and smacked him above the right eye with it. The lizard found himself surprised by her speed and agility. She drew back the weapon again and stunned him with a pistol whip across his scaly snout.

She pushed the barrel against his forehead then froze. "Dammit." She brought her free paw to her ear. "…A second one? _This_ is the decoy? Stand by while I kill him. You know I like to take my time and make it personal…" Kursed waited then frowned. "It's _that_ important? Must it be now? Very well, I'm on my way." Kursed brought a knee to his face with incredible force, knocking him onto his back. She smirked at his unconscious form. "Today is your lucky day – it appears I'm off to the complex; someone is already inside of it stealing everything for themselves – I must hurry. We'll finish this later." She then leaned close to his head and said, "Don't be foolish and underestimate me, mortal man… though I applaud you for buying time for your partner – I failed to see that coming. Bravo." She stepped from the edge of the gas station. Her cloak billowed up with air like a cape in the wind. She dropped into a crouched position, absorbing the impact of the fall with her legs. The hem of her cloak fluttered to the pavement, settling around her on all sides.

Her body rose to a standing position and she turned to Zazan, who had a dead reptile guard slung over each shoulder. "Change of plans. Vaporize them – we must hurry."

The Anglar threw both bodies on the street, pulled out a high power blaster and shot each guard. Only shriveled hot rubber from their boots remained, along with their ID tags. Zazan picked up both dog tags and headed across the street with Kursed. She paused and turned her head to an astonished gas attendant. The man had his cellular phone out, eyes wide, snapping picture after picture of her with the Anglar.

"We don't have time, Empress," said Zazan. "The thief will get away."

Kursed narrowed her bloodshot gaze then drew her hood. With a hidden scowl, the sardonic vixen stormed across two paved lanes. She passed between startled motorists who quickly locked their car doors. On the other side of the road, she and Zazan entered the complex but left the door open. A few soldiers stood at the corner, not far from the door. "Ensconce yourselves. Shoot _anyone_ who leaves," she said in a demanding tone. The guards approached the door and knelt on either side of the exit. They drew their weapons, remaining silent.

Meanwhile, inside the building, Fara Phoenix had her back against the wall. The hue of her gray camouflage body suit matched the metallic bulkhead flush to her back. She thumbed a switch on her sleeve and whispered, "Sarnoff, where are you? I need that diversionary explosion _now_." No reply. She lifted a paw to her ear and pushed against the hidden earpiece then called him by name again. No one answered. "Damn." She froze, hearing hollow footfalls from around the corner.

She closed her eyes and waited. The single pair of footsteps grew louder until they were nearly upon her location. She whirled about with a high roundhouse kick but her leg passed over a surprisingly short marmoset. Her foot connected with the corner wall then she pushed away from it reflexively. The startled scientist balked, unable to shout for help.

Fara shouldered him to the ground, still recovering from having missed with her kick. The two bowled over to the floor together. She forced her right paw over his mouth then placed her other against his neck. Her fingers squeezed just above where his neckline met his shoulder. The ape struggled for a moment with a muffled cry against her palm.

With her left fingers pinching against his neck, the flow of blood to his head ceased. The scientist fainted, now limp in her grip. She closed her left arm around his neck and tucked her right wrist beneath his arm, pulling his body across the floor. The fennec carefully propped and deposited him into a nearby janitorial closet then shut the door with a smirk.

She peered around the corner then lifted her gaze. Above her head, a security camera hummed on a motorized mount, panning from left to right. She withdrew a silenced pistol, took it by the barrel and slipped the handle into a loop of cable feed that came from the back of the camera. With a tug, she unplugged it then replaced her gun and broke into a sprint. Halfway down the hall, in full run, she saw a door on the left beginning to open.

Instinctively, the vixen pounced the door, shouldering it with all her momentum. The door slammed, throwing whoever was on the other side to the floor. She stood up, opened the door and reached for another scientist, taking him by the collar. "If you scream, you die," she hissed. The lizard shook his head rapidly.

"Good boy," she added then turned him around and looped her arm about his neck. With her free paw, she withdrew the gun on her thigh and jabbed it into his hip. "It's set to stun right now. Don't make me change the settings."

"I… I w-won't. J-just don't k-kill me, lady."

Fara placed each foot against the left sides of his shoes. "Ever danced with a girl before, smart guy?" She led him forward, keeping their feet together. "Walk _with_ me, just let me lead." Step by step, she walked him across the deck, using him as a body shield. As anticipated, the door at the opposite end of the room took them into a hot zone. Several guards trained their guns on Fara's head. The twinkling red laser dots shimmered in her eyes. "Don't shoot boys," she said. "A death spasm will cause me to pull the trigger. My weapon is set to maximum – it'll vaporize him… he looks too smart to kill so don't play any games with me."

The scientist, now with a case of the hiccups, started to open his mouth in an attempt to find words.

Fara leaned close, her chest against his back, and whispered into his ear. "If you tell them my gun is on _stun_, they'll open fire. Think before you act – you're an educated man… when a jock opens fire with an automatic weapon… what happens? Don't answer – just think about it. Sure, maybe that first bullet will find the red dot on my forehead… but the next fifteen rounds will spray all over the place from recoil. You'll die, too. Do you want to die?"

He moved his head from left to right three times, clamping his muzzle shut.

Trying to add some measure of moral support, she patted the side of his face then tightened her arm around his neck again. "You make a good dance partner," she whispered. "Keep going… step, step, pause. Step, step, pause. Don't look at their guns – the laser sights are especially bad for the reptilian iris. Step, step, pause. Left, right, shuffle. Keep going – you're doing very good."

Another hiccup. "I don't feel well."

She kept her voice soft. "That's the adrenaline thinning out – the crash is making you feel queasy. Here, let me help you with that." She pushed her index nail into his shoulder and tightened the arm around his neck just slightly. He hissed in pain then offered a pathetic whimper. Fara cut her eyes from left to right, counting the guards. "Hurt, huh? But how's your stomach?"

"B-better. Don't feel nausea anymore, just the _stab_ wound on my sh-shoulder." He sounded bitter and miserable.

"See? A fresh infusion of adrenaline – keep moving. Step, step, pause. Now… we're going to try and change our dance routine. We'll move to the beat of a four-count shuffle. Left, and'a right… and'a left, and'a right… how you holding up, big guy?"

"I d-don't want to die, lady." He swallowed, took a deep breath followed by another hiccup then said, "Don't get me killed. I have a wife and kids."

Fara peered over his left shoulder at his barren hand then said, "Don't lie – first of all, you're more nervous about my chest pressed against your back then you are about those guns pointed at us. Second of all, you're not wearing a wedding band. I'm trained not to die – you stick with me and you'll live. Keep moving, and'a two, and'a three, and'a four. Look, they're backing up but they're not firing. See how easy this is?"

"I… I…" He suddenly broke into a string of frustrated cusswords under his breath, cursing himself for the inability to speak. He clinched his jaw, took a deep breath then, in an even softer voice, told her, "I used to make pharmaceutical supplies until my city was destroyed. I had no choice but to be here – I don't _want_ to be here. I just want to go home and join in my guild's nightly raid after work."

Helping him to increase the pace of their rhythmic walk, she began counting faster as well. "And'a three, and'a four… I thought there was a technology injunction on Venom? And'a four, and'a one, and'a two…"

He grew frustrated again and quietly hissed, "I'm not _on_ Venom anymore! And besides, they did away with those restrictions. I've been playing this game for a few months now… I even talk to a girl in the lobby chat between raids."

The fennec lowered her ears and said, "Okay, okay – chill out. You'll see your 'nerdess' tonight, just keep walking. I hope you realize that Venom is going to have those sanctions again when all of this is over."

"Then take me with you," he whispered back in a rather pleading tone. The strangely sudden request surprised Fara who blinked without a reply to offer. He continued, "The girl is from Macbeth – she's really smart. I don't even want to be here. Like I said, they're forcing me to work on…"

"Hush!" Fara jabbed the gun against his hip.

"No, listen," he whined. "I implore you to hear me out!"

She cut her gaze back to the guards who looked to be growing impatient. "Implore, huh? Is that a word you picked up from your game?"

"I can make a list of core base weaknesses for Corneria – just take me with you. My game files are archived on a server – I don't need anything but the clothes on my back! Just take me with…"

"Hush!" she said again. This time, the guards heard her and responded by gazing down the barrel sights of their weapons. Another guard dashed into the hallway then froze, seeing the situation. He drew his weapon and fell into step with his fellow soldiers. Fara sighed and in a relaxed, clear voice, announced, "This guy is a crucial part of your science division team. If you boys start shooting and he dies in the crossfire, your superiors will stomp your scaly behinds and punish you as a result. Everyone stay calm – you'll have your chance to shoot at me when we're outside so just take it easy, boys."

A burst of static filled her right ear, followed by a weary sounding Asper Sarnoff. "Nngh, Fara, it's an Anglar and some blue-furred woman. She resembles Marcus McCloud's mother but a great deal younger. I tried to fight her but… failed – they're on their way to you."

"Asper," she growled, "Now you see what I mean about putting lives in danger because of your stupid, petty inability to fight a female."

"No," he cried in reply. The radio reception grew garbled with static for a moment as Fara passed a wall-mounted computer terminal. The line cleared and his voice continued, "…too strong. I had _no idea_ she was a female until she pulled her hood back. She's a superior fighter – watch your tail. It's like she knew every move before I made it. She…" The transmission crackled again then, "…humiliated. The only reason she didn't kill me is because she said she didn't have enough time to make it personal. I think I may be suffering from a concussion."

"Dammit," she groused. "Okay, change of plan – the initial mission is complete but it's too late for a diversion. I'm staring down the barrel of several guns. I have a hostage – can you requisition a plan B? We'll never make it to the pickup point at this rate."

"You mean commandeer a vehicle capable of space travel? You want me to _fly_ with a concussion?"

Fara thumbed the settings on her pistol. The hostage looked down at the beeping indicator that emanated from her weapon. He paled and swallowed back his nervous worries.

"Long enough to get us out of here," she snapped in a soft voice. "I'll get us off Eladard if you can get here. I don't care if you have to fly it into the freaking complex… in fact… _do that_. Fly it right through the wall – any wall, pick one. I don't care just _hurry_."

"I'm on my way – if you see that chick with the hood, back off. Again, she looks like a younger version of Marcus' mother."

"Acknowledged." Fara muttered beneath her breath. "Sounds like that stupid woman from Fichina. It'd better _not_ be her." Up ahead, the hallway ended. The guards stopped with their backs to the wall, guns still trained on Phoenix and her hostage. Fara continued to move him forward. "Okay, listen up… all of you. I'm in a hurry and your bosses are apparently on their way here. I thought I lost'em outside but apparently they must have learned of my location from my idiot partner or by some other act of fate. So, there's been a change in plans, everyone. Now… On the count of three, I'm going to do something very sudden. Everybody with me, so far?" She brought the gun between her stomach and the hostage's lower back. She stuffed the barrel down the back of his pants and whispered, "Bear with me, don't flinch."

The fennec took a magnesium flashbang grenade from her belt, pulled the pin then whispered, "Reach your hands up and cover my ears… do it _now_." The lizard reached back behind his own head, fumbling quickly for the woman behind him until his palms found her ears. She told him, "Push your hands as hard as you can against my ears, hurry _now_." Then she dropped the grenade down between their bodies. It landed on the deck where she kicked it behind herself. She withdrew the gun from the back of his pants.

Without further warning, the small object burst, behind her. With her eyes in the other direction and her ears covered by his scaly hands, the deafening explosion and bright flash incapacitated everyone in the hall. She shoved the dizzy lizard, stumbling from a temporary loss of hearing. Fara lifted her gun and squeezed the trigger several times. It bucked in her paw and each guard slumped to the ground with a hole in his forehead.

She dipped down, pulling the lizard back to his feet. She forced his left arm around her shoulders and aided him in walking. She kicked the door open at the end of the hall and turned sideways, helping him through. Her head ached from the magnesium grenade although thankful her hostage muffled the noise for her.

The next room was a large auditorium-like hall. A door on the far left opened and Zazan stepped into the room followed by a petite hooded figure. She lifted the gun and trained the reflex sight marker on Zazan's forehead. "Don't even move, tubby. I'm going to walk out of here and you're going to stay put."

The hooded figure lifted their arm, brushing the sleeve against Zazan. He paused at her gesture. "Let her go." In a soft voice unheard by the normal ear, she added, "She knows how to find the stones – let her lead us to their location. Hold fast."

Fara strained her delicate fennec ears to hear the voice from across the room. She narrowed her eyes and thumbed the setting selector on her blaster. Then, without a word, she squeezed the trigger. Her aim was true, striking Zazan between his glowing green eyes. Stunned from her weapon, he dropped to the ground besides the hooded figure. Phoenix thumbed the switch again, amping the power back to full.

"Clever," said the cloaked woman. "Yes, he would have charged head-long into battle with you – he was struggling to hold back. It's probably best you took him down. Now there won't be any drama. I won't stop you, Cornerian. You're free to go. Just… don't kill my scientist."

Sarcasm. "Your concern is touching," replied the fennec. "He can't hear a word you're saying right now – his ears are ringing." Fara pointed the weapon at the hooded figure, aiming high. She squeezed the trigger. The blaster discharge grazed the top of the hood, splitting the fabric. The torn cloth parted, falling to the woman's shoulders. She appeared several decades younger than 'Kursed'. The attractive woman seemed tired. She lacked sparkle in her emerald eyes and had dark circles beneath them. Fara furrowed her brows in confusion.

Phoenix lowered the weapon so that the red dot danced on the woman's forehead. "I don't know how you survived getting a pole through your chest… And I don't know who your plastic surgeon is; you look younger than I remember… but I _never_ forget a face."

"It's the new me, sweetie," replied the Cerinian. "But you have my praise – even Fox McCloud didn't recognize me on Kew. The man, who claimed to love me, looked in my eyes and _told_ me he loved me more than anything in his life…" Regardless of how little sense she made, the tired blue vixen continued her banter. "I sense you were betrayed by him as well."

"He thought I was dead," Fara spat, keeping the dizzy scientist on his feet. She scuffled towards an open exit door at the far end of the wall. Kursed grinned broader as Fara grew closer to the open door. Phoenix continued to speak. "He waited _eight years_ before he met you… then it took another _two_ years before he could open up. I never asked him _not_ to move on. I wasn't betrayed."

"He dated your best friend after your 'death', Fara."

Phoenix wasn't buying her mind games. "And she dumped him because he kept comparing her to me. Fox didn't betray me, he didn't betray _you_, and in _this_ universe, he married Krystal and they had a son. Stop kicking a dead…"

Kursed lifted a paw. "Tisk, tisk, Fara… That's quite a racial statement towards equines."

"You're something else. I'm tired of your lousy psychological mumbo jumbo. There's a _very_ good reason I've not killed you – Marcus will want that honor. However, if you even flinch wrong, I'll defend myself by plugging you in the face."

"You can't," she replied to the fennec. "Remember your friend? The lizard with the wings? I telepathically anticipated his _every_ move. When you pull the trigger, I'll dodge and you will miss. We're both very well aware that you cannot defeat me in such a way. Like I said, I'm not going to stop you because I cannot afford to lose a member of my science team."

"You're lying."

"Is that your perception? Or are you telepathic, too? Oh, wait," Kursed grinned, leering at the fennec. "You're… You're Marcus McCloud's new _girlfriend_? My, my… isn't _that_ an interesting tidbit of information! How fascinating! So, how is he? Is the boy better than his father?"

"You're the telepathic one," Fara snapped with a grin hinting at the corner of her maw. "You should know I've never slept with him. I'm not a teenager anymore. I won't rush headlong into a physical relationship with a man I've only just met a few months ago; sorry to disappoint you."

The cerulean-furred woman appeared giddy as Fara neared the exit. However, she also looked physically worn out. "Ah, yes… I see that now. My mistake …Miss Phoenix, correct? Although, I see you love him. That's very good but what if he goes back to the mother of his child? He was once very passionate about …Violet, was it?"

Suddenly the entire wall exploded. A small ship crashed through the building, sliding to a stop near the center of the room. Fara glanced at the exit then turned her gaze back to the ship and changed direction much to the visual displeasure of the Cerinian vixen. The fennec's eyes widened, realizing that the exit door was some sort of trap.

"Speaking of Violet, _her_ _boyfriend_ is here to rescue me – I guess your theory on Marcus going back to her …was terribly _wrong_."

Kursed shouted to the guards outside the door. "Get in here and kill the intruder!" Two lizards came through the door with rifles drawn. She leaned back against the wall, physically exhausted.

Fara knelt, shoved her shoulder beneath the reptilian scientist with a grunt then stood up and carried him towards the ship. He was beginning to clear up. He lifted his head, seeing the large ship in the middle of the room. He looked back and, lacking enunciation from the ringing in his ears, shouted, "Look out, they're opening fire!"

Something struck Fara hard. The force of impact knocked her and the lizard to the deck. She groaned and reached for her head, questioning herself if she'd been shot. She reached a paw to her forehead, sitting up, still dazed. She glanced over her shoulder then blinked. The rifle fire struck an invisible barrier two meters away.

"Fara, hurry!" A man's voice brought her back to reality.

She looked up and saw Asper standing at the top of a boarding ramp on the side of the small ship. "I expanded the shield bubble to give you cover. When it passed through you, it knocked you on your ass – sorry about that. Hurry up – they can still step into the bubble and shoot you, c'mon!"

Fara shook her head hard, as if drying wet fur then stood and yanked the scientist to his feet. She helped the man towards the ramp and guided him up the steps first. She trained her pistol on the approaching soldiers, waiting for them to break through the energy field. They stopped shy of the bubble and pushed just their weapons through then fired on her position. She cursed her luck and shoved the scientist lizard up the steps, "Go, go! Hurry up!"

Kursed, standing against the opposite wall, clinched her teeth. She drew a radio from beneath the now-hoodless cape and spoke into it. "They're getting away. I want them tracked. Have a stealth fighter follow them – they'll lead us right to the remaining pieces of the puzzle. Let them collect both stones then tail them to Corneria. When all four are in one place, attack. Bring me all four stones as soon as you have them. I'm growing impatient."

She turned and left the crumbling auditorium. Two soldiers, waiting outside, escorted the limping vixen away from the complex. "Go back for Zazan. I'm heading to my reconstruction chamber – I'm growing too weak to carry on for the moment. Let that ship get away for now." She stumbled.

One of the lizard guards helped her to stand and put his arm around her. The other Imperial soldier went back for Zazan's unconscious body. Kursed growled beneath her breath and opened a channel to Dash Bowman. When he answered, she said, "How much longer before I'm complete?"

"You look as though you've nearly drained yourself," he replied over the communicator. "I told you _not_ to stress your body until you're finished with twelve _months_ of therapy! Look at you! You're dying – hurry to your chamber, Kursed. I should have never let you leave your reconstruction pod this early – you're going to get yourself _killed_. You still have _nine months_! You didn't even return to the vitality chamber last night, did you?"

"I've not yet slept," she replied in a weary voice. "I thought you said I wouldn't have any weaknesses… I call _this_ a weakness, Bowman."

"Your body is coming apart on the cellular level," he shouted over the communicator. "You need a full year of genetic therapy before you're immune to simple_ folly,_ such as exhaustion. I told you _not_ to rush out and start involving yourself in military affairs! You're supposed to be in that chamber for at least _twelve_ _hours _every day! Where are you?"

"I'm tracking down my stones that _your_ men lost! …I misjudged the vital importance of your rejuvenation machine – I'm returning to it now with the help of a guard." She closed the communicator and leaned into the escorting reptile. Her body was rapidly giving out beneath her, making it difficult to walk. The soldier opened a door at the end of the hall, which lead out to the east side of the building where her cloaked transport pod waited.

The lizard pressed a button on a side panel, beneath the landing strut. An elevator platform lowered from the belly to the ground. He helped her onto the plate where she dropped to her knees, nearly in agony now. She looked behind herself and saw another imperial guard helping Zazan through the door. "Hurry!" she exclaimed in a weak voice. "I'm in need of your assistance, guards. Get us back to Venom – when we're aboard, I want you to help me into my stasis chamber. I'm not to be disturbed for twelve hours. There will be _no exceptions_. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Mistress – Your will is our command, Imperial Empress!" The lizard turned to help his teammate with Zazan's body. Once both were on the platform, the guards took up a position on the left and right side of the elevator with their guns drawn. The elevator lifted, drawing the metal plate up into the transporter.

Meanwhile, another ship broke from the roof of the two story complex and shot into the sky. Moments later, the cloaked pod lifted into the sky and headed towards Venom.

A/N: _Okay, so there's a lot going on but I'm squeezing in a lot of stuff while Marcus is still in school. The meat of the story doesn't happen until after graduation. Thank you for taking your time to read this story! I really appreciate that! So far, everyone who has reviewed, your commentary means a lot to me. I like knowing that you have a special spot for certain situations, characters, etc. :D_

_I should probably get started on chapter 3, huh? Lol_

_-Kit_


	3. Face Off

Chapter -3-  
"_Face Off_"

_Several hours later…_

**"Okay, General, give me the clue.**" Fara shifted the notebook computer to her left knee to get more comfortable.

"Fox said you would _know_ of his hiding spot. In fact, other than StarFox's original members, he said you'd probably be the _only_ person who knows what planet and where it was located. I have no idea what that means."

Phoenix grinned. "I do. Thank you, Bill."

"This conversation never happened." He ended the channel.

Fara closed the notebook and placed it in a bag on a nearby chair. "Of course it didn't," she mused to herself. She leaned over an empty seat, reaching towards the wall and touched a green button. "Pilot, take us to Papetoon, please." She released a button and a noise caught her attention. She sat up in her chair and froze in response to the gentle sound.

The soft masculine sigh caused Fara's large left ear to perk. She glanced over her shoulder at Asper Sarnoff and quirked a brow at him. "You're not the kind of guy to mope – what's wrong with you?"

"That lady with the blue fur," he muttered. "I didn't know that person was a female, Fara. I fought her tooth-and-nail, diligently. I found myself thrown about like a ragdoll. She removed her hood when it was time to _gloat_, as if she knew it would upset me. I saw her _eyes_; she was filled with a vile hate I've never seen in a woman's eyes before."

Phoenix nodded slowly. "She's a monster, alright. Unfortunately you and I cannot defeat her by normal means. The StarFox team seems to think she's from another dimension. It's sort of like a parallel universe but things happened differently there for a different set of reasons. Needless to say, Marcus battled her and he was the only one capable of defeating her. He took that decorated six foot walking staff from her and drove it into her chest."

Asper opened his mouth to speak but froze instead. He recalled the attack on Aquas, when he first met Marcus, who had a jewel-encrusted walking stick on his back (C30 RoaNG). "I've seen it before," he said, tapping his chin with a pensive fingertip. "He took that staff _from_… then used it _on_… on…_her_? And why was he the only one capable of defeating her?"

"Some say that she's the doppelganger of his mother." Fara leaned back in her seat, staring forward once more. "Perhaps it's because he took everything so personal or it could be the fact that his mother taught him all of her moves, so to speak. And so, he was able to keep up with this whack chick, which caught her off guard. He claims it was his instinctual and clairvoyant nature that allowed him to foresee her attacks before they happened, giving him equal ground against her. It's difficult to say – don't be hard on yourself."

The lizard stood up from his seat and began pacing the aisle. He ruffled, folded and readjusted the wings upon his back while simultaneously folding and unfolding his arms across his chest. "I misjudged women, I'll be honest. They're capable of evil just like everyone else. When she put the gun to my head, I wasn't afraid to die. But, I _was_ afraid of how wrong I'd been. I felt this strange sensation of vulnerability and I felt mentally exhausted, face to face with her."

"Asper…" Fara reached a paw out and caught his forearm. "Krystal McCloud is telepathic, as is Marcus… remember?"

He jerked his arm back then recoiled in horror at his own response. "Sorry – yes, of course I remember."

"That woman is _also _telepathically able to sense your every move. So, of course you can't lay a finger on her. You've got to fake her out. I want you planning to act one way then instinctually respond a _different_ way. She'll counteract wrong, giving you an advantage."

"How do you go about doing that?"

"Hell if I know – I'm telling you what Marcus told _me_. I wasn't any more successful against her than you. Perhaps using a robotic sidekick, an attack droid or something…" Fara crossed her ankles then frowned. "She's going to cause us trouble. When we meet up with our contact in a few hours, perhaps they can help us shed some light on the situation."

"Who are they? How can they possibly help?"

Fara offered a light grin. "Our contact is Krystal McCloud. If _anyone_ can defeat this 'Kursed' chick it would be her."

"Kursed, hmm?" Sarnoff sighed again. "So that's what she calls herself." He moved back towards his chair and eyed it with a frown. "The only way someone would be able to fight her is if they could somehow fight her from beyond the range of her extrasensory perception. Like a body fighting _for you_ with you in control but from a distance."

With a sudden cacophony of laughter, Fara stood up and threw her paws in the air. "Of course! Oikonny's holographic VR combat orbs!" (C5 – RoaNG)

"I… don't follow." The reptile refolded his wings then slumped into his seat across the aisle from Fara. He eased up on the armrest with his elbow and leaned in her direction with an expectant look upon his face.

Phoenix crossed one leg over the other, retaining her normal feminine public demeanor. "Andrew Oikonny, much like his uncle, is an inventor. He designed a self-propelled collection of metal orbs that have a holographic emitter built into them. They use an energy field to levitate and move at the user's will – the batteries last about four to six hours, depending on the aggressiveness of use. Anyhow, on the other end, the user wears virtual reality goggles and you can see your opponent as if you were there. There are paddles that hook to your ankles and gloves that close over paws or hands. You can use them to grip things, throw things or just throw punches and kicks. And… they're very durable," she added at the end. The fennec grinned inwardly, recalling how she'd struck one with a metallic fire hose nozzle. "I tried my best and only dented one – it still works. In fact, I have possession of them; found the paddles, gloves and VR goggles in his abandoned base on Sauria while looking for Marcus." She paused, recalling how she found the boy unconscious with a bump on the back of his head.

"Have you tested them?" His words brought Fara out of her short reverie.

The petite vixen nodded in reply then leaned on her elbow, facing him across the aisle. "Reproductive organs don't make a difference – it's all personality."

"You're right, organs don't make a difference – neither does the muscle tissue men have in their shoulders that women _don't_ have… you're also right in saying personality makes a person who they are. But don't deny that estrogen and testosterone shape the way we act, react and use our mind. It's true and decades upon decades of study will back my words."

"I don't doubt that, _but_," replied Fara. "Women always say, '_Men are helpless without his wife because…_' and they're just as judgmental. If a group of guys are having fun in the living room, talking about something as simple as sports, the wives will say, '_There is too much testosterone in this room_!' When, in reality, testosterone has nothing to do with getting excited about sports. _I_ like sports. It's in our nature to be competitive and it's equally in our nature to rally behind someone with athletic ability. Suddenly, when little Billy is old enough to take up sports in high school, his mother is going to all the games and getting wildly excited for him and his team from way out in the bleachers. So, guess what, where do the differences and similarities begin or end? In the end, it's in our nature to judge one another based on race, species, gender and even religious beliefs but the truth of the matter is surprising… we're all the same."

" I'm talking about a battlefield. I'm talking about how a woman would react to seeing someone else blown apart, barely hanging onto their life by a thread. That sort of emotional duress would bring about traumatic…"

"Asper," she interrupted with a soft voice and a firm gesture of her paws. "Once upon a time, women were _not_ allowed on a battlefield because the government feared that _men_ would stop and mourn over a fallen female. Furthermore, in that same era, women were nurses in the medical corps. Dying men were brought in on stretchers by the hundreds and these nurses would be thrown into the thick of it – instead of a few mere dozen dead bodies on the battlefield, these women would be _surrounded_ by bloodied bodies. Aisle after aisle of the dead and dying, all laid out the length of their makeshift hospital tent. They weren't ducking bullets but they were reaching into a man's shuddering body, digging through his bloody guts and trying to dislodge a bullet. And _you_ know it to be true. I know just as many civilian males who would duck and cover with tears streaming down their faces if someone opened fire in public. I don't care what a CAT scan shows – sure the brain has differences. One woman can remember everything she hears, sees or smells. Another woman is lazy, forgetful and likes to make pretext, blaming others for her shortcomings. They both have a vagina but one is a motivated individual and the other is a sad excuse for a person. I don't want a trained female agent coming along and killing you – I need _you_ to train _my_ recruits."

His eyes lowered to the deck between them. "I don't know what to say – I'd be honored but I know I'm not ready yet."

"It wouldn't happen until _I_ felt you were ready. I saw the way you worked with Lex and Frank on Titania. You were right there with them, providing hands-on training to help them adapt to their surroundings. You were there to show them step-by-step how you took them down in combat and how to stay alive in a fight. I was impressed, Asper. Could you show a woman those things and have the same patience? If the answer is 'no' then you're worthless to me. You're just another trainee whose tail belongs to the military – you'll do jobs from time to time but you won't have any real worth… So, I ask again, could you show those things to a woman?"

"She'd need a urinalysis before she's in the program."

Phoenix nodded in agreement. "Both genders would require a physical – I'm not sure how Miramar passed her physical if she was pregnant but… I brought that to the attention of General Grey – that sort of thing won't happen ever again."

"Don't expect an overnight change from me," said Sarnoff with a sigh. "Next time I'm face to face with that crazy blue-furred woman, I'll need you to back me up."

Fara reached a paw across the aisle. "You were brave to buy me time and hold them off. I'm assuming she knew of my presence because she either sensed me or sensed your thoughts in regards to me."

Asper reached his scaly hand across the gap and took her paw. "She acted as though she believed I was alone. You're the one who saved _my_ life – she had the gun to my head and got a communication over an earpiece. She rushed off to go after you but not before striking me."

Releasing his hand, Fara sat back and paused. "That's interesting. She received intelligence that I was in the base? No one should have seen me. I hope I'm not getting rusty. By the way, how's your head?"

He lifted his hand dismissively. "It's nothing. The copilot is a certified medic and said it's a minor concussion. He told me _not_ to rest, so I didn't take your suggestion from earlier. I've remained wide awake. I can live with the headache, no problems there. Where did you go anyhow? I woke up in front of those four goons and you were _gone_."

"I heard someone down below," she explained. "He was telling them to stay away from the ladder to the roof then I heard a thud. I stood up, wrapped the cloak blanket around you then dove right off the side. I wrapped my arms around the banner…"

He cocked his head. "What banner? I don't recall seeing one."

Fara offered a dull gaze and folded her arms. "The one that said, '_Ten credits off full tank with purchase of a car wash_'. Keep your eyes open. I knew it was there because I scouted the area once we were on the roof. I mark all exits and check all possible enemy entrance points so I know my way out of a situation. I didn't have time to wake you – my apology. However, that should prove to you that I felt you could handle yourself, which is my way of extending trust to you."

"Don't get me wrong," he returned. "I'm grateful you trust me – I'm honored, Instructor Phoenix. No one else saw you drop down with the banner?"

She resumed the flat glare again. "_Would_ someone notice me when all eyes are on the gas attendant getting executed with a blaster? Seriously. It's all about perception. The hand isn't faster than the eye, but if the eye is distracted it'll never catch the hand's next move. I escaped and no one saw me."

He nodded sullenly. "Misdirection, yes. I'm familiar with subterfuge and stealth tactics. My mistake – I didn't mean to sound as though I was questioning your motives, abilities or tactics."

Phoenix snorted and grinned at him. "You're fine. We should be arriving soon. Get yourself some aspirin or something." She stood up, walked to the back of the transporter and knelt adjacent to the tired Venom scientist. "So, since you speak Cornerian so well, tell me why Kursed didn't sense you were about to betray her? She just _let_ you walk away and that bothers me."

He lifted his head and sighed. "She's not at full power – her abilities are lacking. She struggles with the reptile mind because it's designed differently. It takes more mental focus to analyze us." He cleared his throat and raised his voice, speaking to Asper, up near the front. "Did she have any difficulty reading you?"

Sarnoff canted his head towards the back and replied, "Yes, at first. She had no idea I wasn't alone and so she jumped to conclusions. Why?"

The scientist lowered his voice, turning back to Fara. "You saw how she grew very tired near the end? She was trying to read me, she'd already tried to read your friend and then, with him crashing through the wall, she was trying to scan him again to see where it all came together. She wore herself out. Mental exhaustion. It triggered an emotional collapse and she probably struggled to keep the metaphorical 'lid' on the proverbial 'jar'. Marmosets work closely with us and keep an eye on us much like 'middle management'… that _is_ the term, isn't it? Middle management? She reads them to determine our progress and such. Incidentally," he paused and leaned back in the seat, looking tired from the earlier ordeal. "Why did you have a conversation with her?"

"What conversation? The one about my friend dating Marcus' father after I disappeared? The one about not rushing headlong into a physical relationship?"

"All of it," he replied with a nod.

"There are a few reasons." Fara shifted her weight on her right knee to stay comfortable. "I wanted to buy time, I wanted to feel her out and make sure this younger-looking woman really was Kursed… I also wanted to see how she'd react to common banter right in the middle of a battlefield. I did it to test her out – I like knowing my enemies."

"Younger…? You mean to say she looked older at one point?"

Phoenix nodded. "About half a year ago, give or take. I believe she's almost fifty years old in Cornerian revolutions. Now she looks close to my age. I find that very strange."

"And thus," he lifted his gaze back to the fennec. "Your comment about her having a good plastic surgeon? I've never known her to look any different. She took over our Eladard operation about seven weeks ago – she's been micromanaging the facility."

Fara brought her paw to her jaw and rubbed beneath her muzzle. "That's odd – I wonder why Cornerian Intelligence never knew about her? How're your ears?" she asked at the end.

"Changing the subject I see." He nodded slowly and told her, "Much better. I imagine you'd be deaf if I hadn't held my hands over _yours_. I'm glad I could help. I'm Spencer, by the way."

She cocked a brow at her. "Spencer? That doesn't sound much like a Venom name."

"I changed it," he said. "Rothrarck-d'Perryah, all one word, was too cumbersome for the apes to say. Besides, I was learning Cornerian in an advanced online class about five months ago and wanted something friendly sounding. I chose Spencer – do you like it?"

She ran her fingers back through her bangs and chuckled to show good-natured-ness. "It's perfectly fine – your Cornerian vocabulary is very good but your vowels sound a little… well… foreign."

"I'll do my best to emulate it correctly. Do you think the government will allow me amnesty?" Spencer's skin tone, brown from his head down his back to his feet, mixed strangely with the greenish hue that ran from his neck, down the front of his torso. Fara couldn't help but consider him dorky. He was scrawny, his snout was too large and his body and skin tone didn't seem to fit him.

"I don't see why not… By the way, I really think glasses would improve your image. It just seems as though you need them to fit into the stereotype I have for you. Don't mind me, I like fashion accessories." She stood up, patted the top of his scaly hand then walked back up the aisle. "Spencer, you're going to stay here and remain quiet for right now. We'll take you to Corneria when we're done. Try and get some sleep. If you go downstairs to the hold, there's a cot on the wall. You look tired." She sat back down adjacent to Asper and the two talked amongst themselves for a few more minutes.

Thetransporter ship sank into the atmosphere above Papetoon. Once an Imperial-owned planet, at Lylat's outer rim, the population was mostly simian primates below the equator. On the northern continents, the masses were a rich mix of Cornerian and Katina ancestry.

The ship settled in a quiet desert spaceport at the edge of a quiet, wind-blown town. Inside, Asper watched out the window in some measure of amusement. "Did I read that correctly? This dusty little town is called _Eladard_?"

Fara grinned, grabbed her duffle and stood up. "Ironic, isn't it? I doubt there's hardly more than a scrap of metal in the whole community."

"Indeed; compared to Planet Eladard, where there is nothing _but_ metal." Asper shrugged. "Shall I stay here and watch thee, ah, 'hostage'?"

"My pilot is capable," replied Fara. "Come with me – Mrs. McCloud will want to say hello. Besides, she'll need to read your mind to better understand your run-in with Kursed. Let's go."

* * *

**A scuffling noise** in the hallway caused Miyu's ear to flicker. She sat up on her air mattress – the shift in her body weight caused her rump to sink down at the center of the inflated object. She grabbed two pillows and lined them up long-ways and pushed the covers over them. Carefully, she moved off the mattress and stood by the wall, slinking down by the front door. She remained on the side with the hinges and drew a blaster she'd taped to the backside of the door. The scraping sound happened again, followed by a soft crunching noise. Miyu tightened her grip on the pistol.

A soft rattling sound occurred, followed next by the gentle grind of a metal tumbler sliding from the door. She watched the deadbolt rotate slowly. It was time for action; she could feel the adrenaline spike her bloodstream. The door opened through which an arm extended. A gun barrel with a silencing flash suppressor clicked twice, putting two silent rounds into the pillows on the floor. The air mattress deflated.

The gun lifted, aiming across the room. Miyu reached for the assassin's wrist, pushed her blaster against their forearm and opened fire. The blaster discharge easily cauterized the wound it left but the attacker's paw and their gun suddenly became heavier, falling victim to gravity.

Miyu's eyes widened, realizing she'd shot clear through their limb. The heat of the blaster shot ensured that not even a single drop of blood spilled from the injury.

The attacker cringed in a defensive posture. Miyu kicked the door shut with all of her might, throwing their body to the floor. She tossed the remainder of a gloved hand and wrist, along with their silenced gun, to the mattress, which continued to deflate. She came about, opened the door and pushed the barrel of her blaster into the torso of a dark being.

"Don't move, stumpy. You'd better get used to that new nickname, because I've got your arm _and_ your gun back there on the floor."

"Nghh…" The groan sounded masculine. She brought her free paw to their throat and pushed him up against the opposite facing wall, out in the hallway. She glanced to the left and right, ensuring the area was clear. "Ngh, no worries – I'll retire off my insurance policy now."

"Oh, one of _those_ hired hit men, huh? You insure your trigger finger because it's your only source of money, yeah? … Freakin' right…" The lynx jabbed her gun beneath his muzzle, pointing it upwards below his jaw. "How about _this_ angle? Do you like the warm barrel underneath your chin? You want to _spend_ that insurance money, don't ya?" She nodded for him and added, "…Sure ya' do… So if you want to live so you can see that cash, you'd better talk: Who sent you, pal?"

"You _want_ me to say Dash Bowman, don't you? Well, maybe it was. I don't care – I'm a wealthy man, thanks to you."

"Trigger finger policies make me sick," she said. Miyu lowered the gun and fired. His eyes widened in pain but he said nothing. She grinned, replaced the gun against his chin and said, "Now you have a hole in your right boot. I imagine that goes all the way through the bone and everything. How does it feel? I bet you're still in shock, but give it a few minutes and, trust me, it'll hurt. We girls aren't very imaginative when it comes to torturing men – you _know_ where I'll shoot next."

"Venom sent me to take out the head of StarFox; what more do you need – either kill me or turn me over to the authorities. The next assassin will take into account that there is a formidable bodyguard. You won't live beyond the subsequent attempt, depending on whomever the syndicate decides to hire, that is."

"_Subsequent_, huh? A gentleman, a scholar and a hit man – I'm not impressed." Miyu drew the gun down from his chin, glared at him for a moment then jerked her fist upwards, using the weapon to aid in an uppercut. It rendered him completely unconscious but with a shattered jawbone. She glowered at the slumped form then said, "This guy was obviously a second rate moron."

A voice came from behind. "Miyu, it's obvious we're not safe here."

She glanced over her shoulder and sighed. "I wonder how the Dean will react to this. Gross – his paw is on my bed. …And he put holes in it… so much for sleeping on _that_." She reached up, tugged gently on a hoop earring then sighed. "What a douche." The aristocratic looking woman turned back to Marcus and said, "Grab a broom – he broke the glass thermometer I left on the door jam."

The fox offered her a grin. "Is that how you heard him?"

"Light bulbs are too big," she replied with a shrug. "This can't continue – you're in a public place and someone on Venom doesn't like you. Obviously, there's resentment going back for several generations, all the way to your grandfather. It's no surprise. The thing is, you're on public display while at the academy."

"I _will_ finish." Marcus fetched a broom in the corner and carried it back out to the hallway. He swept the small broken glass bits from the floor and said, "I'll call the authorities."

"An ambulance would be nice, too," she told him.

"I'm on it."

She closed her paw around his throat, pushed her other paw down beneath his right knee and lifted his body up over her shoulder. "I'll take him downstairs and lay him out on the sidewalk. Tell them it's an emergency… obviously."

He grinned and repeated, "Obviously."

* * *

**His paw eased through the sapphire strands of her fur**. His wife replied with a smile, glad for the touch. Fox McCloud turned his head towards the stone tablets leaning against the wall of his bedroom adjacent to an empty glass case. "These two stone things really _do_ look like they're from Sauria."

Krystal cut her eyes over to the two stones, two feet apart, and said, "How odd, though, that they push one another away as if they were two like magnets; they're solid stone. I wonder what's happened to cause that."

"Good question." Fox lifted his paw and ran his fingertips through her hair, combing it back behind her right ear. "We make a good team."

Glad for his affections but weary of his affectionate mood, the vixen offered him a demure whisper. "Where is this leading, Mister McCloud?"

"Anywhere you want," he told her.

"Good answer." She closed her right paw around his collar and leaned up to meet his lips with hers. Her left paw sank into the cushion of the old unused mattress. It creaked in rebuttal. A moment into the kiss, she whispered, "Right here upon the creaky, rusty mattress springs?"

"It's too dry in this region to be rusty," said Fox with a grin. "But they sure do love to make noise don't they?" He leaned forward, easing her back but she put her elbows against the bed and resisted with a grin.

"Must you _always_ be on top?" Her grin broadened then, quite suddenly, vanished. "Wait – not a good time, Fox. We have company. I sense two people, male and female… they're quite a ways off, but one of them has _you_ on her mind…"

"On… her mind?" Fox eased back from his mate and slid off the mattress, pacing the floor.

"Not romantically," she said. "This person knows you and is seeking you out."

Fox nodded in understanding. "Fara and her trainee – they've come for the stones. So there's no one following them?"

Krystal paused then shook her head. "They're alone… Oh!" A smile brightened her maw. "It's Asper!"

"Who?"

His wife offered a dull glare. "He's raising your grandson with Violet. He's her beau – I've probed his mind before; he's an honest man with good work ethic." She slipped off the old mattress and went for the door. "I'll be in the kitchen making tea for everyone. They should be here very soon… I believe they're on speeder bikes." She disappeared into the hallway.

Fox's eyes flitted to the empty glass case on the wall, doing his best to remember it as the storage for his mother's dress. However, some small part of him saw it as a reminder of his teenage love life. He sighed and shook his head – not because he missed Fara, but because he felt it was awkward for his son to be dating her. He knew his thoughts betrayed him and, as if on cue, Krystal's thoughts were pushed into his mind. The power of forced words made him feel dizzy for a brief moment.

"He's happy, love – be happy _for_ him… for them _both_, Fox."

Fox sighed and thought the words, "I'm trying." Silence resumed. He lowered his head into his palms and muttered about the temporary loss of equilibrium. After a few seconds of rubbing his temples, he stood up and stretched. It was time to get ready and act like he was pleasantly happy for Fara's new relationship situation. '_I know it's going to come up and I'll be the one who asks about it; I just know I will_.' He breathed in through his nose and out through his muzzle to relax his body and mind.

A few minutes later, he heard footfalls on the corrugated stairs that spiraled around a large root out in the main area. He stopped in front of a fading mirror affixed to the back of his door. McCloud hopped on the tips of his toes and threw a few punches to get his blood flowing. He pivoted gracefully on the balls of his feet then faced away from the mirror and threw two more jabs. The fox placed his paws at his sides then jumped vertically two times. '_Falco says this always works, I hope he's right_.'

He took two steps forward just as his door opened to the right. Fox paused and glanced over his shoulder. "Fara! Hey!" His heart was pumping now. He wasn't sure if it was the endorphins from the blood flow or if it was a semi-hyper response.

Fara, glad to see him not acting grumpy or mopey like last time, smiled brightly. "Fox! You look good, old man!" She chuckled at her own joke, just to show a sense of being good natured, so he wouldn't take the comment wrong.

"I'm not an elder _yet_. How was your trip?" His eyes cut to the reptile stepping into the doorway behind Phoenix. The fennec stuffed her paws into the gray camouflage pants. Their unflattering stitch and boxy lay did well to hide her figure.

"As normal as can be expected… in consideration of the fact that we ran into 'Kursed'." Her eyes took on a serious expression and her demeanor suggested that her words were anything but a joke. "She's alive, Fox. It's a serious situation. Needless to say, Asper survived a face-to-face encounter with her… something they say men rarely live to brag about."

"…I," Fox trailed off, not knowing what to say. His mood was ruined yet he was glad the conversation wasn't going towards Marcus.

A moment later, Krystal approached the group from the hallway. "Everyone come out to the kitchen." She retreated back down the hall with Fara and Asper in tow. Fox followed them in silence. He knew Krystal sensed the conversation and he wanted to hear her thoughts on the matter.

Once everyone was seated at the table with a glass of tea, Krystal took the initiative to break the awkward silence. "When I was a little girl, I took in a stray creature – it was starving and needed attention but it was afraid of everything. It had a rough street life. Just because my race was telepathic doesn't mean everyone treated every breathing animal with respect. In fact, many looked down on creatures that weren't sentient. Don't get the wrong idea of Cerinia – the other half enjoyed the company of a small pet – I was one of them. She would eat what I fed her but she wouldn't let anyone touch her. One day, I took her firmly by the scruff of her neck and swaddled her like an infant until she couldn't move. Obviously she panicked but she couldn't move… now, before anyone says that sounds like abuse…" She took a sip from her glass then put it back down and folded her paws in plain view of everyone.

Krystal offered a pleasant smile to break the somber mood concerning Kursed. "I held her in my arms and pet her… I sang to her… I was sweet to her. When I finally let her out of the swaddling cloth, she realized that my intentions were to be affectionate. Guess what? As far as she was concerned, she wasn't dead …so I must not have been a threat after all, right? Every time she got into a mood, I'd swaddle her and smother her with affection. Before long, she became an attention-loving pet. She trusted me not to hurt her – the only thing I'd do is restrict her movement so that she'd be faced with the stark realization that I wasn't going to bite, claw or otherwise attack her. The 'cornered animal' responses disappeared in only a month or two."

The reptile rotated his glass, staring down into the amber liquid. "So you want us to capture this woman and hug her until she's no longer evil?"

His comment broke the ice – everyone chuckled.

Fara took a sip from her warm tea. "I somehow doubt killing her with kindness will work. What about you and Fox talking to her? If she really _is_ you, Mrs. McCloud, perhaps you can get through to her."

"Actually," said Krystal, "That's exactly my point. I was able to get through to that animal and took on a loving pet. All I had to do was get through to them – the only way to do that was to make it so they couldn't fight… then I had to show them something _other than_ aggression. I'm suggesting we try a similar approach on this woman… we track her down, see what makes her tick then I'll decide how to associate with her."

Asper tried the tea. It was sweat with a hint of lemon. "What if this whole telepathy thing blows up in our faces? What if she somehow forces her ways on _you_, Mrs. McCloud? What if she changes you?"

Fox cut his gaze to his wife, watching her for a moment. As far as he was concerned, the young man had a valid point. Krystal grinned, though, making him wonder what was on her mind. "Penny for your thoughts, hon?"

She sipped from her iced tea carefully, so her nose wouldn't brush the iced cubes. "This woman spoke to Marcus. I sat down with him and learned everything I could about her. She appears to be me, all right. Furthermore, things happened differently for her in that dimension… Fox and Kursed never resolved their issues. She was captured by some race of hunters on a planet called Kew in a different system. They used her telepathy against her and…" She drew in a slow breath then uttered the words, "_Mind raped her_. I don't know the extent of her hurt but they forced her to relive the pain of her break up over and over, using some sort of machine or technique to amplify her emotional responses… they did experiments on her mind… she ultimately escaped and killed them and became a bounty hunter in the end. She called herself 'Kursed' because it reflected how she felt. In the end, she punished men because it brought her some sort of reprieve. I want to force how happy I am with my husband into her mind… I need to break her down then reprogram her." Krystal took another sip from the glass and added, "…If it's possible."

"Again, what if she poisons _you_ with her abilities?" asked Asper.

Krystal reached across the kitchen table and patted his scaly hand. "She went through emotional darkness. I went through healing with Fox. I went through having a baby and the emotion-filled sensations of restoring my lost race… There's only _one_ person who understands me on every conceivable level – my son. Why? Because he's the only other telepathic Cerinian in existence that I know of. He and I, together, will have the willpower to defeat her mind tricks. She is alone while, conversely, he and I will act as one. Together, we'll show her hope. IF that doesn't work, she needs to be put out of her misery so she can finally rest in peace. I know that sounds cliché but… _I_ wouldn't want to exist in a state of inner torment."

The petite fennec lifted the warm tea to her lips and sipped. "Which is where the rest of us come in," said Fara.

Asper lowered his eyes back to his glass again. Krystal reached across the table once more and took his hand in her paw. "She embarrassed you? I vaguely sense her intentions as though I'm able to read her actions through the way you perceived her… it seems as though she simply wanted to make you feel this way on purpose. Will you bow down to her and give her the ability to bring you misery? She's miserable, too, Asper… Misery wants company – she's reduced you to her level. Don't give her that power. If you feed into it, she has won."

"I cannot change _how I feel_ like flipping a light switch." Sarnoff clinched his teeth for a moment, leaving everyone to look at him. He muttered beneath his breath then told them, "I had my inner ideals shattered by this woman."

"She did you a favor," Fara retorted. "I refuse to feel sorry for you – I told you this sort of thing would happen if you didn't change your outlook. Be glad she was able to do it before some Venom assassin took advantage of it and killed you."

"Fara is absolutely correct," added Krystal. "Anyone is capable of this kind of evil. Will you defend yourself? Or will she defeat you because of an antiquated ideal? The primitive mind once thought fire was an act of fate instead of a creation of freewill. Their ideals changed and it revolutionized their outlook on life. Will you change and adapt or will you become extinct?"

Fox watched the group with interest then cut his eyes back to Asper. "I have no idea what's going on… What's your big hang up?"

The reptile folded his hands in front of the warm tea glass. "It's a gender hang-up. Men are this way, women are that way and my job is to protect them while their job is to rear the next generation to continue the cycle. Sounds stupid, huh?"

"No." Fox leaned back in the small wooden chair. It creaked beneath his shifting weight. "That's respectable. Chivalrous men are honorable." He folded his arms across his chest, still leaning back in the wooden seat. "But femininity doesn't necessarily deserve respect. There's a huge difference between a lady and a monster. A lady _does_ deserve your respect, reverence and protection. But a monster is pure evil – gender doesn't fix something that is pure evil. Don't look at Kursed as a lady; look at her as the succubus she is… a demoness who needs to be put to rest. She's a vampire in a sense… and her hate will suck you dry from the inside out. At least, that's what I gather about her. Personally, I'd like to confront her – I doubt Krystal would like that idea."

His wife put her padded palm on his wrist. "You're right, Fox. Every man she kills is _you_ while she's performing the act. Nothing would bring her more delight than to kill the real you again… after all, she's done it once already in her universe."

"Right," Fara chimed in. "So we _know_ that your 'death' won't bring her any resolve or closure… she's satisfied killing you over and over. Be glad she doesn't know how to _dimension hop_, or she'd probably skip from universe to universe, killing you and moving on. If anything, we need to put her down before she puts _you_ down."

"…IF my way doesn't work," said Krystal in a firm tone. "With any luck, there is hope for her. Fara, Asper, may I take a moment to probe your minds and learn of your encounter with her?"

"Please," Asper said, followed by a nod from the fennec. Krystal leaned towards Asper and took both of his hands into her paws. After a few moments, she released his hands then reached for Fara. The silence continued.

Krystal licked her lips and sat back then cleared her throat. "On an unrelated note, how are you doing with Marcus?" she asked. The vixen lifted her soft paws to her blue-furred face and rubbed at her cheeks.

Fara recognized the gesture as a way to hide a blush and said, "Guys – can you leave for just a moment. We need girl-talk time. Please?" Both Fox and Asper stood up and walked out.

Fox closed the door to the kitchen and turned to Asper with a frown. "Krystal saw something in Fara's mind if you were wondering what that was all about. For her to ask about Star at the end is just a dead giveaway that…" Fox rubbed the back of his neck and grunted. "Damn this is weird. So, how're you and Violet doing?"

"We're well, Mister McCloud. After this mess blows over, come by and spend some time with James."

Fox nodded. "We'll do that." He stuffed his paws into his pockets and paced the hall. "I've not seen Krystal blush in ages. She must have seen something in Fara's mind that had to do with Star. …Marcus, rather. I don't mean to keep calling him by his birth name, it's just a habit. Anyhow, I can only imagine what Krys saw in Fara's head…"

"It seems obvious what must have happened for a mother to blush in such a way. I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not sure I fully understand the situation or why it's so difficult for you."

Fox leaned back against a wall and crossed his left ankle over the other. "Fara was my girlfriend and my first…_ everything_ when I was a teenager. Then she died. She was placed into some sort of stasis… I had no idea. Years later, I'm married with children and pondering retirement. Andross attacks the team and his gravity bomb sends everyone but Star and Peppy Hare to another… hell, I don't know _where _we were. But upon return, six years later, I find that Fara is actually alive, dating my son and … c'mon, that's awkward as crap, don't you think?"

"From what I can tell about Instructor Phoenix," Asper shrugged. "She has genuine feelings for him – perhaps she came to feel this attachment by accident but, the fact remains, sir, she's pleased with her relationship. She doesn't lose sleep over it. So, to her, she's made the right move in her life. A woman in love is a very happy thing. I've only met Marcus twice… once on Aquas and once when he came by for visitation. He appears very happy with his life. Violet was worried he would try and reenact feelings towards _her_, even though she's moved on… but was relieved to find out that Marcus was respectful towards her in regards to her relationship with _me_. In that sense, I assume it's because he's truly happy in _his_ relationship – he doesn't want to intervene with Violet's love life. Why? Because Miss Phoenix probably makes him happy. If Marcus' relationship with Fara bothers you, I have to wonder if _you_ are happy with _your_ wife, sir."

Fox balked at his blunt assumption. "I lov_ed_ Fara, sure, but I'm _deeply_ in love with Krystal. My wife stuck by me through everything – thick and thin. Our love transcends decades – it's grown to something more real than I've ever had before. I'm simply saying, it's _weird_ for my son to be in Fara Phoenix's …bed."

"That's not your problem – it's his. But he doesn't appear to have any issues with her bed …sir." Asper lifted his hands defensively. "Don't take my words wrong, Mister McCloud. I have the utmost respect for you and your family. Marcus wants what's best for Violet and is very pleased that she's happy with me. That's why I respect him. He's genuine. That's an honorable and manly trait if you ask me. Strange or not, are _you_ happy for _his_ relationship? Put your honor first and tell me the truth – in fact, don't say anything to me… the issue is between you and him. I have no right to be involved in any way. But he deserves that from you, right?"

Fox opened his muzzle to be nasty but the words weren't there. His voice returned, but he sounded as though he just realized something important. "Fara is happy for me and my wife. I'm pretty sure I was _her_ first, too… and yet she's not clinging to me – she's genuinely happy I'm married." He shook his head and sighed then told the younger man, "But even _she_ said it took her a little time to sort out her feelings on the matter. I'll get there, too. I'm doing my best. But rest assured this has nothing to do with feelings for Fara… I'm married to the woman of my dreams. I mean that in the most literal sense. When I was _fifteen years old_, I had dreams about a woman in blue (Chapter 1, RoFM) and it turned out to be Krystal." He pushed away from the wall and shrugged. "My hang up is that I feel _guilty_ I slept with my son's future mate. _That_ bothers me."

Asper threw his hands up, frustrated with the older man's youthfully naïve outlook on the situation. "Yes, you did… but you did that back when you were _younger_ than he is _now_. Back before you met your wife. Before your wife ever had the notion of birthing a son. From what I understand, Fara Phoenix is much different now than she was before she woke up. Look at her as a different person… it's more akin to saying you slept with the _mother_ of your son's girlfriend. Everything is different. You need to look at this from another angle or you'll drive yourself crazy."

McCloud turned to the reptile and tilted his head. "You're an okay guy, y'know that?"

Sarnoff offered a hint of a grin. "For a Venom-descendant reptile with wings, right?"

The vulpine laughed. "Exactly. I still have to battle my issues but I _am_ happy that …Marcus found the woman of his heart and dreams. I'm _happy_ that he's happy. And, I'm _very_ happy for _her_. I just feel guilty and dirty that I had a relationship with the girl of Marcus' dreams. That's my hang up. That's my inner honor screaming at me."

A stern feminine voice filled the hallway. "…Nothing you could have done so let it go."

McCloud winced. "That's awkward." He turned towards the kitchen and said, "Guy talk happening – we gave you girl-talk time, we're exercising guy-talk time. Be fair."

Fara sauntered right up to Fox and gave him a shove. "Luckily for you, we opened the door at the best part of your conversation… Right where you said you're happy for me and for Marcus. Tell you what, Fox. I'm not _really_ Fara Phoenix. I'm her clone – three decades in the making. Why? Because feminine perfection takes time to get right… and this is the 'version two-point-oh' model, new and improved… and Marcus is my man. I just hope you continue to be happy for us, because…" She paused, seeing his wide eyed expression. "Relax, will you? It's not like I'm going to stomp out of here with my tail all fluffed up!" She reached her paws to his shoulders and gave him a stern shake. "Corneria to Fox McCloud… get it through your head; everything is fine."

"Papetoon rather," said Krystal with an amused grin. "If anyone should feel awkward here, it _should_ be me for befriending the woman who was my husband's first _everything_. But on Cerinia, a first lover wasn't something we got hung up over… the first mental bonding with your life-mate was ten times different. Now, think about this… It's entirely possible I'll be treating Fara as a daughter-in-law one day. Can you handle that, Fox?"

"I hate being put on the spot," he muttered. "Eventually, yes. If it happened tomorrow, _no_."

Asper sighed in some measure of relief. "I'm glad I'm not the only stubborn guy around."

Fara broke into a string of giggles. "All men are stubborn! There was this time Marcus and I were pinned down with Crimson on Venom (Chapter 10 RoaNG). There were snipers covering our only way out. I wanted to take the window; he wanted to take the ductwork."

"Who was right?" asked Krystal, already knowing the answer.

Fara shrugged. "He was – I met resistance on the roof. He came back to the room like he promised. But he still had a stubborn attitude – much like the both of you, _boys_."

Sarnoff, not having seen this side of Phoenix before, folded his arms. "You're right, Instructor… I suppose women also have premeditated notions of men… you see us one way and it's a habit."

The svelte fennec lifted a paw and pointed it at him as if to say something but, instead, broke into laughter. "Which is what I told you back in the transporter, right? Everyone does it – I'm training you to break that habit so you can take a woman as seriously as I take you."

The elder vulpine shook his head. "Which must not be very serious, since you see him as a stubborn trainee." His words caused Krystal to snicker. "Seriously, though… this has got to be the damndest conversation of all time. Everyone is here getting out their strange feelings, so we can all accept it and move on. It's like group therapy. Now, the stones are in my bedroom waiting for you guys to take them back to Corneria."

Krystal approached her husband and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Ah, you're always the first one to return to strict business, Fox. It's always been your nature to be the serious one of the group." She patted his bicep then said, "It wasn't easy to obtain these stones. They're quite a magnet to attackers. May I suggest you take these back in separate ships?"

"W…_why_ would we do that?" asked Fara. "He's a trainee – I trust him, but I wouldn't put that sort of thing on his shoulders just yet. Sending them out in two directions only doubles their chances of Venom tracking them down en route to Corneria."

Krystal turned to Fara and lifted a paw with her finger extended. "You may be raising your chances of Venom re-obtaining a stone, but if they _do_ attack… would you rather them get _one _stone or _both_?"

"She has a point," said Fox.

"Indeed," agreed Asper.

Fara thought about the situation for a moment then said, "I have a better idea. Two of us will leave here, empty-handed. That's the decoy. Venom is watching Papetoon if they were trailing me to begin with… and if you two leave for Corneria, they'll track you. Take our hostage back to Corneria with you. Asper and I will leave tomorrow morning during the rush hour commute. We'll take the stones with us but use a Phoenix star-liner and stay beneath the radar. You guys take my transporter that I used to come here."

"Good compromise," said Fox. He turned to Krystal and asked, "What do you think, hon?"

"Lock up behind yourselves," she told the fennec and trainee. "Be safe, you two. Give Marcus a hug for me when you see him, Fara. I'm sorry everything turned weird today while you were here."

"I'm glad we got everything out," she replied then turned to Fox. "I'll always have a place for you in my heart but just like Krystal is the woman you loved enough to wed, Marcus _is_ the man of _my_ dreams. I never initially intended for anything to happen between you and me when we were teenagers. I guess I was being a silly rebellious rich girl or whatever. I've never felt the way for _anyone_ the way I now feel for him. I also told him I want our relationship to remain private for the time being so the press doesn't start rumors… but let me also reassure you, _nothing_ has happened between the two of us yet. I'm not rushing into things like I did with you."

Fox quirked a brow and turned to Krystal. His wife smiled and said, "Intimacy doesn't necessarily mean sex, Fox. You knew my blush when you saw it because you know me inside and out for the last two and a half decades… but Fox, I _blushed_ because I saw their intense and adorable romance; I didn't intend to look at _that_. I intended to look at the situation involving Kursed, who also saw all of this in Fara's mind. She even tried to use it against Fara by bringing up things from the past." Krystal shrugged then inadvertently saw into Fara's mind again – the same image from before but further along in the moment. She blushed again, pushing a paw through her headfur. She turned back to Fara and, once more, she apologized. "I never meant to see _that_ image – I hope you don't feel as though I was invading on your privacy."

Phoenix shrugged. She thought in silencer, knowing only Krystal would hear it. '_It was only a shower – I don't feel as though you saw anything especially private. You guys should hurry and get that guy back to Corneria so they can debrief him in regards to that core base.'_ She turned to Krystal and the two girls shared a quick hug.

Fox turned to Asper and offered a handshake. "They're girls – I'm _not_ hugging you, bud."

Asper took his paw and shook it firmly. "Miss Phoenix will eventually acknowledge the fact that girls are different than guys in some respect. Guys would never get away with using the bathroom together or hugging one another in public."

The elder man nodded in agreement. "We wouldn't want to, anyhow – something _else_ that sets us apart. Thanks for coming by, you two. Sorry things got quirky there for a moment… I guess we all had things on our minds – it's good to have gotten them off our chests. Asper, was it? Look, you take good care of that Lombardi girl. The Lombardi's will _always_ be family to the McCloud's. We'll see you guys back on Corneria." He turned his attention to his wife. "Let's get going. I want to get underway so we can finish where we left off, earlier."

Krystal brushed by her husband with a playful push. "…Think you're a charmer, huh? Let's hurry."

* * *

A/N: _I'm sorry there's so very little action, shock value or explosions in this chapter... just the little bit with Miyu and Marcus. However, things WILL pick up - I just had a lot of back story to get through for this chapter... now that unsightly bit is out of the way! YAY_

_There's a LOT going on right now. Kursed's company, Dash and Andrew's respective groups, Zazan and his goons, etc. I'll cover more of what's going on over in Venom-Land soon enough. In a review for chapter 2, one of my readers asked me for shock and awe. Actually, I'll get there. I've just had to set the stage while Marcus is in school. Now that Corneria has the stones, everything will calm down for a short time… Marcus will probably move out of the dorm and live with his parents… longer commute to classes but no one is going to sneak up on TWO telepaths, especially one who is experienced with their abilities. Lots of kids go to school from home. Anyhow, I want to finish out the school year so we can get back to the story line. Not a whole lot will happen to Marcus before graduation. So I plan on skipping ahead just a little bit. I'm now off to grab some ice cream from The Daily Scoop – the best handmade ice cream shop in all of Pasadena, Maryland… in fact, it's the best I've ever had. They have every flavor ever. They have birthday cake flavor and it has birthday cake made into it… they have apple pie flavor and it has chunks of baked apple pie and cinnamon in it. It's the shi-  
__- er, bomb! :D_

_Also, I don't like bogging down everyone's reading experience by following nothing but OCs, so Bliss and Crimson will show up again, but they'll each be in the presence of Canon characters… _

_Crimson will start hanging out with Falco, Theodore and Vivian a little more often. I dunno' what I plan to do with Bliss… but I'm thinking I might have her pull a job with Leon Powalski. And stuff._

_I try to keep these guys in real-world style situations. Like, for example, Fox and Krystal act fairly intense when they get romantic... I don't mean to make some of you feel uncomfortable, but think about it... these guys have been married for so long now that they're completely comfortable around one another. They can joke or flirt without feeling judged. Fara, on the other hand, is still pretty young. She's pushing twenty-six - that's still young enough that you're only just starting to come into your element. She certainly has a lot to learn. But don't we all in a way? _

Season Four of "RESCUE ME" with Denis Leary CAME OUT TONIGHT! _AHH! IT's my favorite TV show ever. It's funny, gritty, dark and has THE BEST plot twists EVER. It's addictive, insulting, hillarious and dark all at once. It's my favorite! What can I say! I just bought it tonight and watched the first episode. They do such a damn good job of making the character mind-screw work out. The very last thirty seconds of the first episode of season four hits you in the face - it's so awesome. _

Anyhow, _I'll write chapter 4 asap. Also, I'll finish the new chapter for Reflections of Fox asap as well. YES, I do plan to finish Spy Cooper, The Curse, Nothing Passed Tomorrow, the Bandwagon Crossover Story of Doom (involving Star Fox landing on Earth about 3 years from now, and the huge government cover up involved in keeping aliens in the US, etc. I love political drama stories. xD), and even Similar Paths Taken... I WILL FINISH THEM ALL! I vow it. But first, I wanna keep pushing forward with this series because I feel like I'm on a roll... hitting my stride and all that... I just wanna keep going with this momentium I've built up for myself._

_By the way, I have secret plans for side characters BILL GREY and FAY! Muwahaha! I know everyone asked about one or the other lately, so just hold tight! All shall be revealed soon!  
:D_

_-ME_


	4. Duplicity

Chapter -4-  
"Duplicity?"

_Six months later_…

**T****he indigo sedan merged onto an abandoned highway leading out of the city** – lush, rolling dusty plains of open Venom stretched out before the hooded figure who remained stoic in the driver seat. A female fox on the passenger side reached for a bottle of water, imported from Aquas, and took a sip. She replaced the bottle in a cup holder without its cap then turned to the hooded person and asked, "So what's in this for _you_?"

No reply. The vixen folded her arms and leaned back in her seat then said, "It's not that I'm nervous – I simply don't trust you."

Finally, the driver spoke. A deep, husky sort of tone – it was smooth like whiskey poured from finely aged oak barrels. "I know, Doctor Granton." A gloved appendage lifted from the wheel and moved to the shifter. They eased their left foot into the clutch, pulled the shifting stick down from fifth gear into sixth then shifted their weight. "I know everything about you yet you're still alive. Ponder that."

"How much further? I didn't realize the warehouse was out in the valley."

"Please, stifle your words so that I can concentrate." The brusque voice made it difficult to guess at gender, although Carey Granton already knew the truth. "At this time, I cannot assuage your nerves – have fortitude, child."

Carey balked. "I'm a doctor in my field. I've spent years in school – I think I've earned something more prestigious than 'child'."

"Then do not act as one would," replied the hooded figure. Their topic changed, calmly saying, "It appears we're not alone."

Granton sat up in her seat and glanced out the back window but saw nothing. She looked up through the windshield however the skies were empty and calm. "Stealth camouflage?"

"Precisely." White gloved fingers closed around the stick, downshifting to third gear. The sedan's engine growled and stabilizing thrusters came to life beneath the rear bumper. It climbed in speed. "Call Bliss O'Donnell – she's on Macbeth doing a mission, correct? Tell her it's an emergency."

"If she finds out I'm with _you_, she'll have a fit. But we need to find that shipment of radioactive ore and destroy it – it's crucial."

"I'm aware of where you stand on the matter, Doctor." The driver jerked the wheel to the left and said, "Hold on." Seconds later, a rumble shook the hover car. Dirt and debris rained down on the hood followed by a concussive bellow of noise. "Interesting – I wasn't aware of any stealth fighters with the capability to fire while cloaked." Another hard jerk of the wheel caused the car to swerve back to the right. An anticipated shot narrowly missed the sedan, striking the road just ahead of them.

The explosion showered the front of the car in dirt, chunks of asphalt and red clay. Granton glanced back through the rear window and brought a paw to her muzzle. "The crater is at least fifteen feet in diameter!"

"They're firing particle weapons, you fool!" The driver slammed on the brakes just in time for the road to burst in front of them. The momentum took the car right into the explosion. The hover pads lost grip and the car shifted violently. "He'll pay for this!" shouted the driver while tightening their gloved grip on the wheel.

The sedan's front end collided with the lip of the fresh crater and flipped in midair. It came down on the roof, spinning wildly. Pinned to their seats, both of them were struck in the face by the powerful discharge of an airbag. The spring water fell from its cup holder, splashing throughout the cabin. An alarm blared in the background while the glove box opened, spilling paperwork into Carey's face. The curtain airbags deployed, along with ones built into the side of their seats. It struck Granton's elbow. Inside the sedan, powdery white dust filled the area, leaving both to gag.

The car skidded to a halt, pitched forward a few degrees from inertia then it settled. The rapidly deflating airbags fell to the ceiling. The hooded figure hung from their seatbelt. They turned to the young doctor and said, "There is a blaster in your door pocket." Carey couldn't see anything within the hood, save for darkness. The shadowy image seemed esoteric in a sense.

Dazed and confused, Carey reached up to her feet, feeling along the curvature of the door. Her fingers brushed against a speaker panel then moved back in an attempt to find the door handle. "I… Are we…?"

"Snap out of it!" shouted the hooded figure. Gloved fingers came to the hooded hem then lifted to their hip to unbuckle the seatbelt. With a thump, the driver fell to the ceiling. The hood fell away from the woman's face and she looked up at Carey.

Granton froze. Her own eyes widened and she locked her gaze with that of a sapphire-furred vixen. Kursed rolled onto her back and reached for Carey's shoulders, holding her in the seat forcefully. "Unbuckle yourself and pull your legs out from beneath the dash. I'll help you down slowly. We have to hurry before they land – they're circling the crash site now."

"But they'll see us and…!"

She growled. "Hush, doctor! You need to utilize your survival instincts – it rained last night; we'll hide beneath mud in the ditch alongside the road and let them think we were ejected from the sedan." Kursed continued to speak, while helping the young swift fox vixen. "If we're good, they'll assume we got away or were thrown too far to be found. Hurry!" She held Carey in her seat by her shoulders while the feminine youth unclasped the safety belt mechanism. The doctor eased to the ceiling of the inverted car then crawled towards the back seat.

"Now what?"

Kursed clinched her paws into fists out of frustration. "Calm down and clear your head! The adrenaline is clogging your ability to think logically! Open the backseats and climb into the trunk. Pull on the release hatch lever and climb out through the back. Did you get the blaster?"

"No!"

The older vixen, although she appeared far younger than her true age, scurried over to the passenger seat. She reached up and withdrew the blaster from the door pocket clip and checked the battery. "Okay, hurry! Dive into the mud and lay on your back. Only allow for your nose to break the surface – stay otherwise still you fool… go!"

Kursed swatted the water bottle across the upholstered ceiling and crawled over the scattered papers that came from the glove compartment. She moved along the ceiling towards the back and tried to peer out the rear window but it resembled a fantastic spider web. She wiggled out through the trunk but froze at the last second. Her eyes widened and she lowered her head, watching three incoming marmosets.

One of them snatched Carey by her neck and lifted her from the ground. Kursed swore beneath her breath then climbed out and, quickly, dove into the smoldering crater. The ground was hot enough that the steam and smoke enshrouded her presence.

"Find the other!" exclaimed the annoying voice of Andrew Oikonny. "I want to see who the good doctor was working with… Who is our traitor? Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Carey struggled in the grip of one of the soldiers. "I climbed from the car alone! They must have been ejected when we flipped!"

"Spread out and find this person!" shouted Oikonny. He took Carey from the trio of ape soldiers and put a gun to her head. "Come out, traitor! Else I'll kill her! I know how important she must be to you!"

Kursed emerged from the crater with a blaster in her paw. She opened fire on the first soldier, throwing him back. He landed in the muddy ditch with a splash. She lifted her left paw to the second soldier, using the power of telekinesis. His body took flight and slammed face first into the inverted sedan. She cut her eyes to the last soldier and he fell to his knees, screaming in agony. He clutched his torso, canted his head forward at an imaginary sight then shouted for help. After a few seconds he collapsed face forward to the dirt, unconscious.

She aimed the blaster towards Andrew and smirked. "Strange, I can't get into your head… Marmosets were always easy to read – gorillas were quite the opposite… no, wait…" she narrowed her eyes. "You've implanted a chip into your brain to ward off my abilities. _Very_ clever, Andrew. However, if and when you kill her, I'll kill _you_."

"I _knew_ you were a spy!" he shouted. "And you're working for Dash… does this mean he's betrayed me… or perhaps you're betraying us both! No matter, I'll kill the two of you and doctor Granton can come along with me. She'll help my efforts or she'll die as well!"

"Do you know my history?" asked Kursed. "Do you _know_ what I do to men? Drop the girl or I'll decimate you physically in a way so horrible, even _that man_," she said, pointing to the unconscious guard whose mind collapsed moments prior, "would feel _sorry_ for you. Do it… three, _two_…"

"Shut up!" shouted Andrew. "I've got your little friend and you can't get into my brain! I'm the one holding all the cards here! Drop your weapon! Oh, I was looking forward to killing you – I've never trusted you, stupid bionic freak!"

"Well then," said the cerulean vixen with a smirk. "You've dug your grave… it's time to lay in it, simian." She clinched her left paw into a tight fist. Andrew's gun flew from his hand and hit the ground with such force it shattered into small pieces. She sprinted towards Carey and Andrew, shouldering them apart. When the dust settled, she had her right knee against his throat with the blaster against his forehead. "Rumor has it your grandfather is still alive… yet he's not here to save you… why is that?"

"W-wait! I can help you! It doesn't have to end this way!" His fear brought about complete and total sincerity to his voice and to his plea. However, because of his mind-blocking chip, Kursed could not sense his genuine offer.

"It's time to die, Andrew Oikonny." A grin tugged at the corner of her muzzle.

The ground around them rose up with a deafening explosion. A gunship fired on their location, launching the blue vixen high into the air. Her arms and legs splayed in every direction as she hurdled through the void. Her body dropped into the shallow mud a quarter mile up the highway, landing on her back with a splash. …Darkness ensued for the time being.

* * *

**A cacophony of applause thundered throughout the theatre**. Dressed in a tailored tuxedo and bowtie, Bill Grey stood and offered his right arm. In a dazzling violet gown, Fay stood up placing her left paw on his forearm. Her other paw moved to his wrist then slipped into his palm, curling her fingers over his thumb. She lifted her head and offered a demure smile offset by her dazzling innocent gaze and matching purple hair bow. Her long lashes flitted and, for Bill, the surrounding ambiance faded away.

After so many years of solitude and duty, his past life disappeared by just looking into her eyes. A genuine smile tugged at his muzzle and he leaned forward, brushing his nose against the side of hers to show affection. She lifted her chin, returning to playful nuzzle. Then, she leaned up further and spoke into his ear so that he could hear over the applauding crowd beneath their box seat.

"Thank you for taking me out, William." Her warm breath on his ear gave him goose bumps. "Look at us – we're old and out to pasture… but even after fifty years, this was my first _real_ date with a _real_ gentleman. Thank you."

Bill reached for her purse and passed it to her. The sequins shined like glitter and her eyes sparkled like gemstones. "It was my pleasure. And we're not old or out to pasture… we're retired, classy and know how to have a good time. I wouldn't have enjoyed a live stage production when I was twenty years old. I was an eager little jock… but tonight was…" He tilted his head, thinking of a good way to word it.

"Charming," she replied with a smile. She tucked her purse beneath her arm and stepped between the two seats. His arm passed over her shoulder, brushing back a garnet curtain for her. The average built spaniel stepped through, lifting the front of her dress, so as not to step upon its hem. Bill followed her through and into the lavish hallway.

"Charming is a great word," he said. "I'm so different around you, Fay. It's like finding a different side of… me."

She looked back at him with a coquettish grin. A single strip of fabric from her bow clung to the side of her face. "You mean you don't drink, curse or act like a bachelor around me? I call that _being manly_. …Very different from being macho, love. I'm glad you liked the theatre. It's wonderful isn't it?"

"I'm impressed," said Grey. "And I'm glad at fifty-four I'm finally mature enough to enjoy it. Y'know… almost a year ago, I was living on Katina in a two-bedroom basement apartment. I slept in and lounged around and drank a beer or two for breakfast. Everything has changed in the past five months."

Fay's smile broadened. The two canines met five months ago and his words pleased her. "I'm glad I helped you make a smooth transition between the age of fifty-three and fifty-four, William. I was always that pilot who liked to wear high heels after getting out of my flight gear. Something tells me you and I would have been worlds apart two decades ago."

"Speaking of worlds apart," said the General with a chuckle, "I spoke with Miyu earlier, before we left. I think you were still in the bathtub at the time. Anyhow, she said she misses you."

"The poor dear," said Fay with a wink. "She looks half her age – I'm surprised she's not back out there, playing the field."

"I'll admit she stays in shape but she can't hold a candle to you," he told her.

Fay patted his arm as the two walked side by side through the decorated hall. She stopped beneath a brilliant crystal chandelier. "You're biased; she's a feline and you're a canine. It's only natural attraction – but by all means, please continue with your flattery, General." She leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on the side of his face then brought her paw up to his jaw line. Using her thumb, she lightened the lipstick marking that graced his fur. "Oh dear, it's not coming out."

"I'm yours," said Bill. "You've marked me with your feminine sign. One of those '_paws off_' indicators, meant for other women, right? Not that any of them would care for an aging hound like me."

"A _General_ of the military _does_ command female attention, believe it or not." She offered him a smile then nodded towards the stairs. "Let's go walk the city… I know it's not the same as the old Capital but we can always pretend."

Bill's eyes lowered for a moment, remembering the day of the explosion (Chapter 16 RoaNG). "Not much can compare to the old city. It's… a shame it's gone."

She placed a paw on his chest, stopping at the top of the stairwell. "That's _not_ your fault. If it wasn't for you, William, the rest of Corneria would be a crater, too. That it happened wasn't in your power… that it wasn't worse is a fortunate thing this planet can attribute to your leadership. Don't be hard on yourself, sweetheart." She locked her eyes with his. After a slight pause, he cracked a surreptitious smile then she pinched his cheeks in her paws. Fay glanced furtively over his shoulder then moved to the railing and lifted a finger. "Who says '_old people_' can't have fun?" She eased her rump up onto the banister and slid down the railing. Her dress ruffled around her ankles. She carefully navigated the curvature of the stairwell, disappearing around the corner. Her voice rang out from beyond his field of vision. "Come on, y'big silly!"

He drew in a deep breath, having half melted inside from hearing the way she said '_silly_'. He moved up onto the banister then heard, "Sir, what are you doing?"

Bill cut his gaze back to one of the staff members, incredulous at the way he was perched on the stair rail. He thought about what Fay said to him then told the man, "I'm the General of the fleet; who says _old people_ can't have fun?" With a grin, he pushed off. Grey, adorned in a form fitting tuxedo, picked up speed, sliding down the banister then used his paws to control his pace. He carefully moved around the turn then the railing tilted downwards again. Continuing the rest of the way to the bottom, he hopped off at the end. Bill took three steps forward from momentum then stood up straight and smiled at her. "Let's get out of here before the staff says something – one of them caught me upstairs." He reached for her gloved paw and the two made their way for the main exit.

"What do you want to do?" she asked as they hurried through the lobby together.

"Who cares, I'm feeling pretty young right now. Let's do whatever we want – the night's still young."

"We did what I wanted to do," she replied with a playful smile. "Let's go do something _you_ enjoy. I saw a sports bar not far from here!"

Bill laughed at her suggestion. "Dressed like _this_?"

"Sure! Let's go!" she exclaimed with a giggle. "I'll show you just what you're up against at a pool table, beer pong and quarters!"

He hurried after her, through the exit and into the calm night air. "Good goddess, stop making me fall in love with you, woman!" The two lovers chased one another through the city streets without a care in the world.

* * *

**Bliss O'Donnell narrowed her gaze at the small communicator** video screen. "Carey was abducted by _Andrew_?" Her free paw eased forward on a flight stick. Her eyes darted back to her dash panel.

"Not directly but, yes. He's been critically injured in an incursion – they've put him into a stasis chamber. His forces claim he defeated Kursed in a battle after finding out she went rogue while helping your girlfriend do _something_… I don't know what, but it's apparently important enough to piss off my idiot counterpart. No one has found Kursed's body, so I doubt she's dead. I'll need Doctor Granton's help; I'll use my resources to help you find her."

"Whatever," said Bliss with a throaty growl. "I'm out here right now looking for clues as to where I can start." She flipped the phone shut and put it on a belt holster. Bliss landed her small ship alongside the deserted Venom highway. The crumbling ribbon of black stretched for miles from its urban origin. The canopy whined, lifted by its electric motors. The hybrid wolf-vixen donned sunshades to ward off the overpowering sunset.

O'Donnell hopped from her cockpit, grunting upon contact with the road. She stayed low in a crouch, sniffing at the air. Her eyes panned over the multiple craters and an inverted blue sedan. She approached the crumpled vehicle and knelt down adjacent to the passenger door. She eased her paw in through the broken glass of what used to be a window before getting crushed beneath the vehicle's weight. The slight gap brushed against the top and bottom of her wrist.

Bliss muttered to herself and closed her paw around a denim strap then tugged. She eased a messenger bag-style purse from through the narrow crumpled window and inspected the contents. Inside, she found several handwritten journals on old fashion spiral-bound notebook paper. The contents provided information on how to stop Oikonny's forces from creating a bomb. Bliss drew in a deep breath of air and frowned.

Some pages detailed the stages of misery a radiated victim would endure before death. A few crude sketches showed details copied from the reports of Cornerian doctors, six months ago. The lupine swallowed back a lump in her throat.

A staggering vocal presence suddenly struck Bliss. She dropped to her knees, winded. '_I'm glad you came. Do not be alarmed… I can help you get her back – I require your assistance, O'Donnell._'

She panted from her spot on the dusty ground. "…Kursed," sneered the wolf. Recovering her breath, she raised her voice and asked, "Where are you?" Her thunderous shout offered no echo.

'_Further up the highway. Check the ditches – I've been buried alive_.' Again, the powerful presence hit Bliss' frontal lobe with such force that it stole her equilibrium and sent her to the pavement. She rose to one knee and groaned, rubbing her temples as though she experienced a short migraine.

Bliss tugged at the bottom of her vest, freeing it of wrinkles. She huffed in frustration then moved to the edge of the road. She began walking, keeping her eyes in the muddy ditch. "You're buried in _this_ crap? Serves you right, you freak show." O'Donnell continued along the side of the road slowly, staying careful not to miss anything. Ten minutes up the highway, she saw a vulture sitting at the top of the slope. It was alone but kept its eyes on something protruding from the mud.

She blinked in stark realization then ran towards the ugly creature, waving her paws at it. "Get out of here, damn it! Go!" The buzzard spread its faded wings and launched itself into the air. Bliss slid down into the muddy embankment and knelt. She lowered her head and squinted. "Oh… holy hell. That's your bloody snout sticking up out of the damn dirt. How the hell did you get stuck in there? This mud is nearly solid as a rock!"

Again, the intense sensation of a balance-stealing voice struck the half-breed wolf-mixed-fox like a ton of bricks. "_We left the morning after a rainstorm. I'm unable to move much. I'll help you find your mate – we'll need her help to take back this ore._"

"Dammit," muttered Bliss, getting up to her knees. "Why am I helping you…? I'm really dumb for doing this," she added. Young O'Donnell withdrew her blaster and lowered the yield setting. She fired it into the dirt, concentrating the blast around the side of the protruding muzzle. "I'm so damn _stupid_ for this." She placed her blaster on the ground and began to dig for the woman's face.

Within minutes, she dug down to the right side of the imprisoned vixen's shoulder. "Okay, hold tight. I have a really good idea on how to get you out of there." She dug into her gear and withdrew a concussion grenade. The hybrid used her blaster to soften the soil several feet from Kursed's body then she buried the explosive device and moved back fifteen paces.

The blast launched dirt into the air, creating a small crater in the soft earth. Kursed's body was now half-uncovered. She lay there, her breathing shallow and her body soiled. Her fur was matted and caked with grime; her clothes were beyond restoration. Bliss quickly began using her paws to dig the vixen's body from her shallow grave. "You're bloody lucky, you psycho freak. Hold on, I'm almost there. How many days were you out here?"

Kursed opened her dry, parched maw and whispered, "Approximately two to three days."

O'Donnell continued to dig, tearing through her gloves. Within minutes, her nails resembled bloody stumps at the tips of her fingers. Yet, Bliss continued to work diligently until Kursed's body was fully uncovered. She knelt into the soft clay-mixed soil and lifted the battered grungy woman from the ground and hoisted her up. Bliss groaned, faltering at first. Kursed spilled halfway back into the clumpy dirt. Again, Bliss tried her best to lift the deadweight body, straining with a grunt. Finally, she managed to get the woman's body up over a shoulder then she slowly stood.

"Don't take this the wrong way – I doubt you will, you're pretty impersonal already, but you're going into the cargo hatch, _not_ the back of my cockpit. Dirt ruins electronics so you can forget about the luxury seat."

Kursed, draped over O'Donnell's shoulder, simply whispered, "Water."

"Yeah, hold on, you crazy bitch. My rations are back at the ship. I've got to hike your tail back there, first. Goddamn, you weigh a ton with all that damn dirt all over you." She grimaced and carefully placed her left foot halfway up the slope then heaved forward, planting her right heel into the soil. "If we can just get up on the street…" She gritted her teeth, straining to carry the woman's body from the ditch. Finally, they both spilled forward, at the edge of the street. Bliss lay on her stomach for a minute, panting. "Not graceful but deal with it – I'm saving your tail, here."

No response.

Bliss climbed up onto the street level and pushed her arms beneath Kursed's biceps and dragged her up into a semi-vertical position. Then, she wrapped her arms around the woman's waist and hoisted her back up over the shoulder. "Okay, now we're making progress – what the hell did you ever do to earn my help? You'd better pull your own damn weight and help me find Carey or I'll stick you back in that goddamn hole so fast it'll make your head spin." She began her slow trek to the fighter a little more than a quarter mile back towards the city. Its skyline twinkled in the distance, hazy from industrial pollution.

"We'll have to head somewhere neutral to have you all fixed up. We can't take you to a hospital around here… someone will recognize you. For now, I'm going to report to Dash that I could _not_ find you… I'm not sure whose side he's on yet and while I still don't trust _you_, I prefer you stay bellow the radar for now." She approached the fighter and sighed in relief. "Almost there… Let me get you that water, hold on." She laid the woman down on her back, in the shade of the fighter then fetched some water from her emergency rations. "This had better _not_ be a trick, or it's the last trick you'll _ever_ pull."

* * *

**The reflective tod leaned back in the coach seat**, thinking back to events earlier in the afternoon. He spent most of the morning lying on the carpet, playing with baby James. At eighteen months old, the baby was laughing, crawling and goofing with a smile. He chewed on some of his toys and was fitting various color-coated block shapes into a box with matching colors and shaped holes. His ability to reach out telepathically was amazing.

Unlike several of his family members, James' eyes were of the same azure hue as Krystal McCloud's fur. He had one single tooth come in thus far and Marcus even gave him a bath. All-in-all, the entire day turned out very enjoyable. The sound of an intercom hiss broke McCloud's reverie. "This is your pilot speaking – we're being subverted to the west-facing runway, number twenty-two. Due to a large city fire at the academy, all northbound facing runways have been shut down. Thank you."

Marcus sat up in the cloth seat and blinked. He lifted his eyes to the seatbelt sign, noting it was still dark. He stood up and walked up the aisle. At the end, the fox brushed a curtain apart and asked the stewardess, "Ma'am, I live at the academy – does anyone know what happened?"

The large metallic blast door leading to the cockpit was partially ajar. The co-pilot peered out and said, "According to the academy control tower, there were two hot dogging pilots flying night-watch. They clipped one another in the dark and crash landed. One came down over the campus area. The other guy came down in an industrial complex at the edge of town. Most of the fire crews are attending to the industrial park because it's a chemical fire – there are crews coming in from other cities but the military fire department, alone, is doing its best for the campus. That one seems as though it's out of control, too… probably because trainee fighters still use liquid fuel as opposed to fuel cells."

Marcus said, "Thank you, sir." He tightened his jaw and returned to his seat just as the safety belt indicator came on. Minutes later, the public transport ship began its descent.

"This is Phoenix Travel-lite Five-Alpha-Niner on final approach. Thank you for flying Phoenix Travel. It's a mild seventy-seven degrees with low humidity here in the township of Peppermill. Please lock your trays in their up-right position and fasten your seat belt as we prepare to land. Again, thank you for choosing Phoenix Travel transportation services and for letting us satisfy your travel needs. This is Captain Gerald Townsend wishing you all a safe and comfortable evening. For those of you who will be rejoining us on the red-eye flight to Katina, we'll be refueled and ready to depart within the hour."

Marcus peered over a slumbering old man by the window, able to see a plume of dark smoke above the academy. "…Dammit."

Ten minutes passed, with Marcus McCloud hurrying through the terminal. He ran into the baggage claim area, noting the conveyer belts hadn't yet begun sending luggage out to the public. Marcus continued out the front exit and hurried across a sky bridge to the paid parking garage. He fished his ticket out of his wallet and breezed through the turnstile gracefully. The vulpine pilot took concrete stairs two at a time to the middle deck and ran down the rows to his blue combat cycle, with all of its offensive capabilities removed. It was the same one that he helped Slippy mount to the wall in the GreatFox about the time Andross attacked almost seven years ago.

He thumbed the combination lock chain, stuffed it into a saddlebag and withdrew the helmet. He kicked his leg over the bike, fastened the helmet strap beneath his jaw and stomped on the kick start pad. The cycle growled to life then idled with a subtle purr.

He placed the dated parking ticket in his teeth and gunned the engine, zipping to the exit gate. He waved it in front of a sensor that automatically drafted the parking fee from his account. McCloud stuffed the ticket into his shirt pocket and waited for the gate to lift. The orange and black arm raised and he punched the throttle, peeling out on the concrete. The bike's awesome torque caused the front end to lift ever so slightly but he leaned forward to balance the weight ratio. Like a bottle rocket, the sleek blue bike darted off at high speed. He leaned to the left and merged onto an exit ramp that led to the highway then toed a clutch bar. The bike dropped into second gear, followed by a high-pitched whine, accelerating smoothly.

He stood up on the pegs, allowing wind to pass beneath his body, through his thighs – his tail whipped wildly behind him. A digital road sign above the highway read, '_Campus emergency in effect. Academy personnel with authorized ID only. No public visitors at this time._'

McCloud crouched down, going from fourth to fifth gear. His stomach pressed firmly against the speeding bullet on two wheels, surpassing one hundred fifty miles an hour. He had an instinctually bad feeling. The sensation dwelled in his gut, making him tense and frustrated. The fox kept his fist tight on the throttle – wide open on the nearly empty highway. A small gauge between the handlebars showed forty pound-force per square inch with a set of digital yellow bars. The final bar was bright red. He let off the accelerator.

His boost gauge dropped quickly as the bike decelerated coming up on his exit ramp. The digital needle dropped to thirty inches of mercury, displaying the engine vacuum status. The display returned to zero as he coasted at a high rate of speed through the final stretch, coming up on the main gates.

From out of nowhere, a cry for help filled his mind. His eyes widened, recognizing Crimson's thought patterns. The young pilot shifted his weight and throttled forward. The front wheel lifted from the ground and he stood on the pegs, leaning towards the handlebars. The belly of the bike struck the wooden gate, shattering it into splinters. Somewhere in the background, the guards were shouting at him by last name.

The front wheel dropped back to the pavement, gaining purchase but causing the bike to wobble. He strained, fighting for control – his tense body calmed and he used a measure of 'body-english' to maintain his balance. The oxygen sensor beeped in protest, displaying '_boost controller_' in orange on his dash. The word, '_lean_' flashed briefly but disappeared. A familiar whine filled his ears and the cycle accelerated once more. His continuously variable transmission box allowed for incredibly smooth acceleration without feeling a jerking sensation. The bike's holographic display showed wavy lines with the words, '_Power band enhancement for torque to peak power ratio – level two boost enabled_.' A pleasant chime, barely audible over the ambient rush of wind, filled his ears.

McCloud ducked down, keeping his muzzle even with the short windshield bubble that half-covered his gauges. The second stage power boost kicked in, launching him forward in excess of two hundred miles an hour. The empty road, one of the longest stretches on base, flew by in an instant. Landmarks and typical objects became mere blurs. His tail, no longer whipping behind him, seemed to float in a pressure bubble directly behind his body. The dotted lines in the road appeared as one solid yellow line, blurred together in the light of his headlamp.

He let off the accelerator and drifted for a moment. The thick black smoke rising above distant trees soon became a raging inferno towering above the east wing complex. Marcus finally tapped his brakes, easing into them with a tender touch. The bike responded lovingly, bringing him to a stop not far from the nearest fire truck, parked near the lobby entrance. It's blue, white and vibrant red emergency lights illuminated the area in a colorful display.

* * *

**Unable to see through the thick smoke**, Marcus moved through the hallway, crouched down. "Crimson!" he shouted. No reply. In the distance, he heard a two-tone beeping from the nearest fire fighter. "Crimson!"

He came around the corner and shouted the name again but this time a feminine reply joined the ambient roar. "Marcus! Marcus McCloud, right? From the class on instrument usage?" A youthful canine female with a raincoat over her nightgown crawled towards him. "My name is Tess!" (C31 epilogue, RoaNG)

McCloud's eyes widened, recognizing her. "Right! Tess Spaniel, I remember! You should get out of here, Tess!"

She shook her head rapidly. "My godmother is supposed to be here doing some sort of job for _you_. I had to come upstairs and check on her!"

Marcus placed his paw on her shoulder and the two began moving through the hallway, beneath the smoke cover. "Miyu Lynx is your godmother? When I was leaving for my visitation trip, she came to me and said she was ordered by Bill Grey to pull back. She's probably long gone, Tess!"

"Small world," she said, placing a piece of cloth over the front of her face to act as a filter. "My _mother_ is now dating Bill Grey; yes, Miyu is my godmother. Have you seen J.T.? He's up here, too!"

"No, I'm here to find Crimson and get him out!" The fox paused then turned left. "Over here, give me a hand!" He shouldered a door halfway down the hall. "This is the recycling room for disposable gear! It's always locked but if we can get it open," he said, shouldering the door again, "…then we can make use of the flight gear. I'm willing to wager there are oxygen masks in here!"

"Move," she called out, speaking over the snap, crackle and pop of the fire. "The damn blaze is in the next hallway over and it's just a matter of time now!" She reached into her headfur and pulled a hair pin then brought it to her teeth. She nibbled on it for a moment, biting off the plastic molded tip, until its metal edge was exposed. Tess Spaniel pushed it into the lock and in seconds the door opened.

"I don't know much about fires," said Marcus. His ear flickered at the sound of a sharp grinding from above. "What the hell is that?"

Spaniel pushed the door wide and began rummaging around through the used gear, which waited to be recycled. "Those are saws – firemen cut holes in the roof to force the smoke out. Ventilation is just another part of the fire fighting science." She withdrew two face masks and shoved one into his paws. "Here! We've got to hurry!"

"How do you know all that stuff?" he asked, recalling his last flight with her when she seemed to know a great deal about Arwings. "You're like a walking encyclopedia!"

"Thanks!" she replied. "I like to read! Let's hurry before this fire gets worse! I heard the two M-Class fighters that collided today were sabotaged or something! I'm not sure of all the details but some students are suggesting the pilots were singled out for some reason!"

"School is too much drama for me," said McCloud under his breath. He pulled the mask over his face and took a deep breath. The air was filtered and somewhat easier to breathe.

"Okay, do you want to split up? I'll look for Jack and you look for your friend!"

"For now, let's stay together," said McCloud. "I vaguely remember Jack – you guys are sharing several classes together, right?"

"Yeah." She pulled her own mask on and said, "Crimson was his name? Crimson O'Donnell? He's in my first period class – cocky guy but great pilot. He's up here?"

"Know'em huh? Yeah, I sense his presence. He's really close, actually. Can you bring more of those masks? We'll go together!"

"There are only two more," she replied, going through the stuff in the storage closet. "How did you know these were here, anyhow? They shouldn't be!"

"Long story short," began McCloud, "Crimson and I snuck out to go flying almost six months ago. We came back to the dormitories in full flight gear but I sensed security nearby so we stashed our crap in there. From what I understand, Crimson took his roommate up in the middle of the night not too long ago… they also stashed their stuff in there. That's why there are four masks. Let's go!"

"I thought you were a rule-enforcing goodie two-shoes!" she said in reply. "Okay, so I'll follow you – let's find everyone!"

The two made their way down the hall, remaining low. Marcus cleared his mind to the best of his ability. He looked around trying to pick up Crimson's thought patterns. All the voices in his head made the task difficult. He heard a male voice in his head: '_This roof is getting spongy_.' Another one chorused over the first with, '_Thank god that probie brought his Halligan – he'd better not hit the back of my arm with the flat of his axe._' Another voice, this one female, said, '_This is worse than that frame fire on third. And here I thought the new kid was a white-cloud probie. Dammit, he's struggling with the irons._' Scattered words and terms filled the area like, '_bank down!_' overlapping with _'Charged hose, go!_' He struggled to focus.

Suddenly, a very clear and familiar voice filled his mind. '_Marcus, if you can hear me… I'm in trouble, man. I'm in an empty hallway near your old room. They managed to get Sugar out of here, but another firefighter is here and he's trapped under debris. I can't leave without him. I need your help getting him out – I don't know where his buddies are._'

McCloud's eyes widened. He reached for her arm and said, "We're going the wrong way – it's back here!" The two pilots, crawling on all fours, headed back the way they came then made a left at the next intersection. The whiney sound of a 'PASS alarm' filled the hallway, leading McCloud and Spaniel to the injured fireman and Crimson. "Red!" he shouted, as the two came up the hall. "How bad is he?"

The half-breed wolf pulled a flashlight from the man's bunker gear and shined the beam at a heavy file cabinet lying across the man's right leg. Red looked over at Tess then back at Marcus. "It fell through the ceiling from the third floor. The damn thing landed right on him; he's not conscious. I don't know what's in this file drawer, but it's heavy and the frame is too messed up to open it."

The fox's eyes darted from left to right, assessing the situation. "Damn, if only we could empty out all the stuff in it… okay, look, there are three of us – we can lift it together. Also, Tess says she got separated from another classmate… Jack Thunder. She won't leave without him."

"I woke up to a bunch of shouting and the fire alarm… What the hell caused this stupid blaze?" asked Red, still in a state of shock. "It's the middle of the freakin' night!" He moved to one end of the large cabinet, while Marcus moved to the other. Tess fell into place on the left side and, together, they heaved the drawer away from the firefighter then tipped it forward. It crashed to the floor, several feet away.

"Nice work," said McCloud. "Look – you have to work as a team to survive this mess. I want the two of you to lift this guy and take him out of here. Work together. I'll find Jack."

Tess' eyes widened, peering at him over her mask. "What? You're crazy! We're a team here – we can't separate now!"

Crimson placed a paw on her forearm. "He's telepathic. He'll find Jack faster than we will. And I can't lift this guy without help – his gear alone weighs as much as you!" O'Donnell hefted the fallen man's right arm and pulled it over his shoulder. Tess came on the man's other side and hoisted his left arm around her shoulder. She used her free paw and passed one of the oxygen masks to Crimson then tossed the last one to McCloud.

"Is this thing detachable?" asked Marcus, trying to pull the PASS alarm device from the fireman's self-contained breathing apparatus. "Dammit, it's like… integrated into one piece. Okay, you two," he continued, shouting over the noise of the beeping box. "This thing will help the fire department locate you guys if you're lost. Just listen for other beeping noises just like this one. Don't worry about me; I'll see you both outside. Now go, that's an order!"

"You're a goddess-damned _action junkie_," the wolf complained. "Sugar is probably outside by now; don't worry, we grabbed your notebook computer and that awesome freakin' TV that Fara bought for you – it's in a safe place."

Instead of showing appreciation, Marcus gave him a shove. "GO, Red! You guys need to get your tails outside _now_."

The wolf-hybrid snorted in reply. "Damn it – okay, Marcus, we're going. See you outside, asshole. I'll remember this _hero _business, the next time you give me crap about not staying in formation." He turned away from his friend and told Tess, "Nice and slow, three steps at a time… right, left, right… left, right, left…" The two ducked low and dragged the unconscious firefighter down the hallway.

McCloud went in the other direction. At the end of the hall, he hurried up the next intersection then came to a halt. His eyes narrowed, stinging from the smoke. He sensed another presence in the area and tried to concentrate. A voice startled the Cerinian. "Did you see him?" exclaimed another fox around the corner. "Damn he's fast!"

"W…wait, what?" Marcus approached the other student, a fox with a white left paw and a black right one. Unlike McCloud's mismatched green and blue orbs, this fox's eyes were incredibly bright. It was as if he saw two glowing jade stones emerge from the foggy darkness. "I don't sense anyone else in the immediate area!" He noticed the other boy had a blaster in his mocha-hued right paw. A nearby fire alarm on the wall illuminated the immediate area with a strobe-light effect, punctuating the moment with a loud Klaxon alarm. It offered four high pitched chirps, followed by four aggressive blaring screeches then repeated.

"There was a lizard; he was running down the hall with a remote control box in his hands. At first, I tried to help him but he acted like he was afraid of me and ran. I think he could have somehow had something to do with the fire. I want to get my mitts on that box he had… it looked like some sort of control panel – I saw him leering at the window seconds before the two fighters crashed, which caused all this mess!"

Marcus lifted his paws, palms held outwards. "Whoa, whoa hold up – slow down. I didn't see anyone and I don't sense another living being in our immediate area. Let's get outside and start from there."

Jack clinched his jaw and muttered, barely loud enough for Marcus to hear him. "He must have gone through a window. Like I said, he's fast." He looked Marcus over then said, "You're that guy from the class on instrumentation… the telepath whose parents were in StarFox, right?"

"Yeah – the name's Marcus; there's no time for chitchat, let's get the hell out of here."

"Call me Jack Thunder."

McCloud crouched down a bit more, staying below the tarry mass of darkness floating above their heads. He was far enough from the fire now that he could hear and see better. "…_Right_. Nice name." He jerked his fist up, hooking a thumb over his shoulder. "We've got to leave. _Now_ is preferable. I don't care how this crap started – we'll leave that to the fire investigation team. The campus is fine – only the west hall dormitories are ablaze."

"Do they have it contained from spreading?"

Marcus shrugged. "If you want to find out, let's get out of here and see for ourselves. C'mon," he added at the end. "We have to go this way," he continued, pointing down the hall. "The other way, back where I came from, is…" An explosion rocked the building. A force of hot air knocked both vulpine pilots to the ground. "What in the hell…?"

"Another attack, maybe? For all we know, it could be a back draft, though." Jack stood up and helped McCloud to his feet. "You're breaking a sweat there, McCloud."

"Fires don't bother me," said Marcus, trying to maintain his composure. "The _first_ time my father proposed to mom… it happened right after they escaped a huge fire (Chapter 12 RotFUTURE)… not that they plodded through it like _this_ but… oh, and remember the massive fire on the news that burned down Fichina's Capital about eight months ago? I was right in the middle of it with my team…" Realizing he was beginning to ramble, he shook his head and sighed. "I digress, we should hurry."

"It sounds like fire is in your veins, pal. We need to know more about that lizard. What if he's involved in starting this fire to some degree?"

Marcus offered an incredulous rebuttal. "The building is burning down just up the hall!"

"We have time," replied Jack. "We should look for clues about that guy before the evidence is burned. Where's the security office? We could probably grab today's tape."

"Good thinking. Actually, I _do_ know where it is," said McCloud. "I was called in there to verify the footage when three Imperials tried to attack me in my old room."

Thunder motioned with the blaster in his grip. "Lead the way… Yeah, I read about those idiots trying to attack a student. So… that was _you _huh? You were lucky they didn't catch you off guard." The two hurried up the next hall and down a flight of stairs at the end. "I guess it's hard to sneak up on a telepath…"

Marcus flinched, secretly insulted by the compliment. "Yeah, something like that." He approached a door with a sign on it and reached for the handle then groaned. "It's locked!"

"…Got the key right here," said Thunder who lifted his gun and fired. The energy discharge glanced off the door and passed between the two boys, into the wall behind them. Not one to give up, he placed his white paw on Marcus' chest and pushed him back. He aimed at the other side of the door and fired into the wall then a second time at knee level. He moved back two steps then kicked the door with all of his might.

Having damaged the hinges where the door met the wall jam, his kick caused the blast door to slide from its frame. It fell to the floor with a loud thud. He turned to Marcus and jabbed a white index finger into McCloud's oxygen mask. "And _that_ solves that dilemma." He reached for the other mask slung over Marcus' shoulder, offered a half-shrug and put it on.

Marcus stepped in through the empty doorway and walked atop the door. It wobbled, half supported on the handle. His eyes panned across the room then stopped on the machine adjacent to a slew of monitors. He pressed a few buttons on the control deck then rewound the feed. After a moment, a lizard walked backwards on the third screen. Marcus hit the pause key then augmented the picture. His eyes widened. "That's the Venom Imperial research guy! He's a turncoat saved by Fara! He's supposed to be _helping_ our side!"

Thunder clinched his teeth. "It sounds like he might be a double agent or something. I mean, he _did_ run from me… Make a copy of that file and let's split."

"Sure thing. …It looks like I'm going to be staying with my team up on GreatFox tonight. Do you have a place to stay?"

"I'm taken care of, McCloud. Let's just get this done and get the heck out of here."

Marcus nodded, working the controls of the security computer. "I'm down with that…" He pulled a small flash drive from the mainframe access panel and put it into his pocket. "We're good; let's roll."

* * *

x

* * *

A/N: _Initially, Fay wasn't even IN the chapter. And you know that part where Bill tells Fay he spoke to Miyu? Yeah, I wrote that scene out! … I don't know why I canned it… I just… didn't like the part. It was too overloaded with stuff about computer code and blah blah blah. _

_Kenton Miramar is a sheep – not a 'lamb', which is the name for a baby sheep, but a 'ewe'. Not an ewe, but 'A' ewe, because it's pronounced 'you'. Kinda' like you say, 'an hour', even though it's a consonant and not a vowel – it's all about the vowel 'sound', so it's 'A EWE'. Lol, not 'an'. Don't beat me up – the grammar is right. I promise! At least I _think_ the grammar is right!_

_:D_

_At the end is the ORIGINAL part with Carey and Kursed, but I changed it and did everything differently… then, because I liked its story direction, I decided to open the chapter with that scene, too. Lol. _

_For all of you who say, "You always tell us about the time you delete several pages and start over… but do you ever keep any of your outtakes?" The answer is… YES. Here, I'll prove it this time… Enjoy. _

_Also, to the reviewer who said I should continue to mark reference points to show where I'm tying this story to the others in the series... You're welcome! It's no secret that I tie all my REFLECTIONS stories together... but recently, someone PMed me and asked me to do it more often than I have in the past. For a reviewer to comment in a positive way after only doing it for one chapter... that really tells me it's appreciated. So I did it again in this chapter. Woot._

_Okay, now, for that outtake!_

* * *

Chapter -4 **Outtake**-  
"Things Are _Too_ Quiet"

_Six months later…_

**Miyu lifted her paws to her head** closed her fingers over her bobbed ears and gently tugged in frustration. Her eyes lowered to the floor with a grimace. "Run the scan again, Kenton." The lynx dropped her arms, fists on her hips. She watched the quiet ewe type then moved around the "L" shaped aluminum workstation. Side-by-side twenty-two inch monitors sat on the desk with an off-center trio of horizontally mounted nineteen inch monitors above the first row. They were at an angle, pointing down from above for better viewing.

Four of the monitors showed high definition feed from live security cameras. The remaining monitor showed several boxes displayed across the desktop. A hyper terminal window showed

Miyu pulled a personal communicator from her pocket, flipped the lid and thumbed the speed dial feature. A moment later, another female answered. The lynx turned away and spoke into the device. "Are you sure this is good intelligence we're getting here?" A pause then, "We're keeping the kid awfully cooped up, Fara. It's been three days since we've locked him up, so to speak. But there's been no attack. How long do we wait until we decide this is a false alarm?" Another brief silence and finally, "How's the mission going? You think Asper will pass his final exam? …Really? All right – I'll call you if anything changes… or if I want to gripe again." She closed the flip phone.

Kenton Miramar, only twenty years of age, leaned back in the mesh chair and placed her left paw upon her swollen belly. "The baby's kicking again. …Oh, look at this." She nodded towards the display monitor showing various open windows. The hyper terminal continued to scroll slowly, occasionally lagging a line with reverse lettering style to highlight a line.

'_+OK,' _followed by, '_Received: From Srv1_ dot_ Corneriaacademy_ dot _govnet_,' preceding a numerical internet protocol address. A cluster of words in rapid succession beginning with, '_To:_', '_From:_', '_Subject:_' and a bit about 'X-Mailer', 'X-priority', something to do with 'Return-Path:' with an address and a jumble of words mixed with numbers. Finally, a line break and a highlighted message.

Miyu's eyes flitted to the monitor above, where a soiree of students chatted out in the courtyard between two academic buildings. She cut her gaze back to the hyper terminal box, where the message read, '_Dear friend, I hope all is well for this evening. Everything is set for tonight so be prompt or we'll lose our chance. Thanks, Admin.'_

More words panned across the screen, '_Dele 1_', some more plus signs with letters, then, '_quit_' in lowercase lettering. More words and numbers with, '_signing off._' At the end. A message popped up beneath that, reading, 'User's connection to host lost. Press any key to continue.' After that, a fresh email panned through the box at a high rate of speed.

"What was that all about?" asked the feline.

The pregnant ewe lifted her head. "It's scanning every email that comes and goes through the campus lines. I've set it up to flag certain words, phrases and anything that sounds cliché… like what we just read. It saw 'tonight' in conjunction with 'chance'. I've seen tons of random emails with those words as of late because of the gathering outside. The thing is, that's the third time I saw something with red-flag words from that user to that recipient. The first time, it said something to the effect of, '_Mother hen to bird nest, be ready to move._' An hour later, one said, '_You move on plan Alpha tonight. You'll only have once chance. Stand by for instruction._' Last but not least, we've just gotten this one come through. Same sender, same receiving address. So far, he's received no instructions."

The elder agent rubbed her face with her right palm then tightened her jaw. Her eyes flitted from one monitor to the next, returning to the pregnant sheep. "How did you learn all this stuff, anyhow?"

"It was self defense," she replied. "My older brother used to hack into my optic mail because he was interested in my dating life." The ewe lifted her head and said, "Once I found out, I quickly adapted, fought back and before long I got better than him." A grin tugged along the left corner of her demure muzzle.

"I suppose if you can do exciting things, it gives a computer more appeal… I see why Fara put you on this gig." Miyu pushed her paws together, cracking her knuckles. "Those emails could be something stupid like a guy getting his buddy ready to play a prank on a group of people."

"Of course," replied Kenton. "Miss Lynx, my husband was curious if I was going to be working this weekend. It's our anniversary and Fara said she'd rather let you make the call because I'm here as backup for _you_."

Lynx turned back to the ewe and tilted her head. "Mrs. Miramar, you've faithfully worked long hours every day for six months without fail. I've even wondered how you've kept your marriage strong being here all the time… How could I _ever_ deny you a weekend? By all means, _please_ take two days to yourself!"

"Thank you, Miss Lynx. And to answer your question," she said with a grin. The ewe brought her fingers back to the keyboard and opened up a ghosted window box with ghosted lettering. "When he signs online, we chat – it's all we had when we dated in the past. So, our communication is better than the average couple. Needless to say, Miss Lynx, I love working and he's one step above a total prude so I don't worry about him cheating. I don't have a very big drive, either. Regardless, we both wanted a baby so… that sort of stuff had to eventually happen."

Miyu shook her head with a chuckle. "And what about raising the baby? How will you commit to your work schedule then?"

"Actresses and professionally contracted musicians manage it, even with tour dates and other commitments. Besides, I make enough money that he doesn't have to work. So we've reversed our roles. He's a stay-at-home dad. He maintains websites for a fee, working out of the house. It's surprisingly lucrative."

"You have my respect," replied Lynx, adding, "Out of curiosity, what was the whole deal about one of Fara's male trainees not wanting to fight you?"

"Just _one_ of them refused," said Kenton. "He's supposed to be her best trainee. I'd already come to a stalemate in a match against one guy, achieved a technical knockout against another because he sprained his ankle and I was unscathed… Instructor Phoenix judged me as in superior condition to fight and concluded that I would have won if it was a real fistfight. Then came Gunnery Sergeant Asper Sarnoff… He refused to fight me. Then Instructor Phoenix stepped in and challenged him. He refused to fight her… so she cold-cocked him. I guess it was for the best; I saw him fight another male trainee… he doesn't hold back. He's very aggressive. …It turns out I was pregnant at the time and I don't know if my body would have held out against someone who fights the way he does… I was embarrassed then but am appreciative now."

A small box on the desk beeped twice drawing their attention. A small metal cylinder lifted from the box then spread out at the tip. The portable holographic emitter shimmered and General William Grey appeared above the workstation.

With a grin, Miyu sauntered away from the desk then whirled about and folded her arms, leveling her eyes on his face. "I don't even see my best friend anymore because of you. It's been _two weeks_, Grey. This whole thing has gotten out of hand."

Bill grinned. "You're lucky you're retired from the military or I'd give you heck for insubordination."

"I'd like to see you try, ya goofy canine. Where's my girl?"

The General folded his arms across his chest, where the hologram tapered off near the bottom. "I'm not tellin' you." His lighthearted expression eased towards seriousness. "She's taking a bubble bath. This new relationship is what I've been missing all my life, Miyu. Anyhow, let's get to the reason I'm calling – Fara is busy in a training program so I'm giving you guys new orders directly. I need you guys to pack up this operation and shut everything down."

Miyu blinked. "What – why? What's going on?"

He lifted his left paw, gesturing her to relax then slid it back beneath his right arm, across his chest. "We've received two encoded communications and a verification transmission code from the enemy. They feel Marcus McCloud is no longer vital to their plans. Also, it looks like Fara's claim was accurate concerning that woman from Fichina. One of our spies came face to face with her… Unfortunately, they disappeared shortly after their last report."

"I take it that is classified information?" asked Lynx.

Bill frowned. "No – Venom made a public comment about catching the spy. It's no secret. Thank you both for your hard work and dedicated efforts. Lieutenant Miramar – you can begin your maternity leave early if you like. Your efforts are appreciated. Also, once your training is fully completed, your promotion will go into effect."

"Thank you, General." The ewe offered a salute – Grey returned it.

He turned away from the recorder, showing the backside of his office uniform. After a moment, he whirled back to them and said, "Fay is calling for me – it looks like the theatre phoned her and had a scheduling screw up for the pre-show dinner. They're offering better accommodations in exchange for coming in half-an-hour earlier. I'd better go and get ready."

**"I want my friend back, **_**General**_**. It's been **_**two**_** weeks since we've had girl-talk time. Make it a priority ASAP." She added a playful wink and told him, "Have fun. I'm glad you guys are together – she really needed a nice guy in her life. It's about time." **

**"This has been the best five months of my life, Miyu," said Bill. "I know we're rushing things after only half a year but… she's moving in with me soon." **

Lynx made a gesture with her paw as though she were swatting at a fly. "Shoo, go away. Fay told me this already – two weeks ago; the last time we talked. It's old news. Enjoy your dinner."

Kenton leaned forward, looking at another monitor. She lifted a dainty paw and pointed at a lizard walking down the hall with a metal device in his hands. "What is _that_?"

"I said shut it down," Bill told them. He grinned a bit then waved casually. "Okay, I'm taking off my 'General hat' for a moment… Miyu, do me a favor and behave. Seriously, go home and have some fun. Miss Miramar, go and relax – get off your feet and enjoy yourself. You're pregnant for goodness sake. Go relax."

The holographic image dissipated and the emitter box withdrew its cylindrical nozzle. Silence ensued, lasting a moment or two. Miyu turned back to Kenton and shrugged. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

The ewe replied with a shrug. A slight smile came next. "We stay until the end of the shift? Just in case those emails were serious?" She glanced down at her wristwatch and nodded towards the door. "One last night on the futon in Marcus' room?"

The feline nodded. "Right on both counts. If Venom somehow overheard that transmission, they would strike tonight. Obviously, our best bet is to finish the shift to be safe. Six months of silence doesn't mean squat – they love to pull stunts out of the blue."

Lieutenant Miramar glanced to the top screen on the far right end. She remained stoic, watching him emerge from the bathroom in a towel and flip-flops. "He's very attractive, even for a fox – Instructor Phoenix is a very lucky lady. I would say to sleep well, Miss Lynx, but my gut tells me we should listen to General Grey. Let's call it a night and go home… Although," she said, pausing at the end. She pressed a few keys on the keyboard, causing a picture of Marcus to appear on the primary monitor. "I can see why you'd want to stay one last night."

"He's not going to be there, tonight. He's leaving in an hour to visit his son." Miyu cut her gaze to the top right monitor, watching him move about his apartment in nothing but a towel. "Fur color aside, he looks so much like his father. The way he walks, his build and his goofy facial expressions… Yeah, he's a clean cut, well groomed kid – a real cutie, especially for a fox. I'll be up here at some point in the morning to help break down this gear."

The ewe grinned. "I recall you used to have a crush on vulpine guys in your youth."

"That's enough, Mrs. Miramar." Miyu offered a stern look but it quickly dissolved into a smirk. Seconds later, it devolved into a cocky grin. "Yeah, they're an attractive species. And yes, Fara is a lucky girl. Guess you don't have to worry about whether or not you get off this weekend."

Kenton shrugged. "I'll miss the pay incentive for putting in longer hours… no worries, though. Good night, Miss Lynx. Sweet dreams and all that." She leaned back in the computer chair and stretched her legs out, using one of the computer cases as an ottoman. Miyu left the room and headed for Marcus' apartment.

X-

(A/N:_ Okay, this is the second part, which I changed completely. While the above section is still accurate and plays into the storyline, and it's nothing more than a 'deleted scene', this second part, below, never happened. It's an alternative version that I stopped writing mid-paragraph. I just shook my head and said, "This sucks." Then, I started over… fresh. )_

_:D_

**The indigo sedan glided down the expanse of empty Venom highway**. A hooded driver brought a plastic water bottle to their lips then replaced the bottle in a cup holder without its cap. With a fantastic view of the city in the mirror and open empty plains up ahead, the figure brought a paw to the hood and lowered it. Kursed cut her eyes to the right and smirked at her passenger.

In the other seat, Doctor Carey Granton reached for a button, lowering her window. "It's incredible how much more… _breathable_ this air is, after just a few decades of having clean oceans."

The vixen smirked. "You say that as though you've breathed the air back when it was dirty – you weren't even born during the rise and fall of the Anglar Empire." She placed her right paw back upon the wheel, returning her eyes to the open road. "And what of Bliss O'Donnell?"

"She's doing a job with her team," said Carey. "They'll be on Macbeth for about one week. Out of three people sharing control over Venom right now, you're the _only_ one who is against the idea of building weapons out of the radioactive metal."

"There's a reason most of the Lylat planets decided to mine all that crap, put it together and toss it. I read several reports about what it did to Corneria's capital city. That was a _very small_ yield but it made a big hole and thousands were sick."

"Since when did you care about killing people with sickness?" Carey cocked one single eyebrow and said, "Yes, the two kiloton blast radiated a very large area. Several thousand people died slowly in the streets. I assure you, they were miserable until the very end. Several hundred people were vaporized right at ground zero."

Kursed remained emotionless. "Civilian deaths are merely collateral damage. They're nothing special or they would be _more_ than just bystanders. However, a death by means of fallout is very impersonal. I would rather watch them flail, engulfed in flames… or better yet, I'd rather look in their glassy eyes when I take their life. It becomes personal and far more satisfying. However, that's not the reason I'm helping you." She lifted her left paw, holding it palm up. "If we don't retrieve these stones, Dash and Andrew will fall back on powering their core base with nuclear reactors. I don't want that. If we destroy the shipment of ore, they'll be forced to go after the stones. Whether they take four from Sauria or find the four that came to this dimension aboard my ship before I broke apart above Fichina… it doesn't matter. Any four stones will do. The weapon capabilities alone are far better and have no sickening side effects."

"Bliss would have a fit if she knew I was with you." Carey folded her paws and lowered her eyes. "I guess I'm putting my relationship on the line by trying to do the right thing."

"I'm sure she would understand if you explained everything," replied the sapphire-hued vixen. "Conversely, if Bowman or Oikonny knew I was helping you to destroy the shipment of ore… they would do more than desire a 'breakup'. She shrugged with a smirk. '_Silly little girl, you're just helping me to take it for myself so I can use it to take control of Venom. Those bungling idiot apes will accomplish nothing._' She shifted her weight in the driver's seat and asked, "You know how Bowman made the small bomb he used on Corneria? I was under the impression that Lylat banished the knowledge of nuclear usage."

"You would be surprised what the ancient ruins of Venom have," said Granton. "Once upon a time, there were only two species in Lylat. The Krazoa were the peaceful technologically advanced race from Sauria. Then, here on Venom, there was another race very similar to the Krazoa, but not nearly as tall. They were always at war with one another and eventually destroyed themselves. It's my opinion that they vaporized one another, leaving only their cities. Andross found their ancient libraries intact and learned how to create his telekinetic amplifier. I came here to learn quantum physics. On the side, I learned about nuclear technology… and became one of the leading experts in the field."

"There are others out there who know how nuclear energy works?"

Granton nodded. "Andross tried to harness it, too. He invented atomic core bases. However, a single Arwing came in through their ventilation and cooling shaft… it took out the reactor by pummeling the shields then firing a single blaster shot into the reactor core… then it left quickly. The chain reaction caused the whole base to implode. However, two or three of those scientists and engineers… have survived. They're probably old and frail these days."

"Fair enough," said one vixen to the other. "Listen, Carey, with my telepathy and your knowledge of this material, it will be easy to obtain this ore from the storage compound. However, perhaps we can make use of it in a sense. In politics, sometimes having the bigger bluff is all one needs to sway the balance of power. Dash and Andrew know your background and your capabilities… how feasible is it to tell them that you and I made a large bomb from this ore, then tell them to hand over control of Venom to me?"

"They know I'm capable of turning this raw material into a nuclear hydrogen bomb, ma'am. A five megaton nuclear bomb blast would level everything within several miles of the epicenter. There would be nothing left of the city but a pile of ashes and a few girders. I mean _nothing_. And, sadly, something like this is very easy to create. You just design a small device inside the bomb that explodes, sending the two materials into a state of chain reaction. The initial implosion would cause devastation on such a grand scale that it would engulf everything in the blast radius. The shockwave alone would vaporize and level everything. There would be nothing or nobody left to get sick off the fallout. The half life of the radioactive particles would be longer than _our_ remaining lifetime. Besides effectively wiping Shrey-Lek off the face of Venom, this material serves very little purpose. Current energy technology is better, cleaner and more reliable than nuclear power. It's antiquated and useless. Not to mention dangerous."

"For the sake of theory," began Kursed. "If you made a bomb large enough to use _all_ the ore in the entire shipment, how big of a hole would it leave on Venom?"

"That's only possible if you could devise a way to detonate all of one material and send it into all of the other. It would simply make more sense to make several dozen multi-megaton bombs, put one in every major city then hold the planet hostage. However, on paper… using the entire shipment would theoretically create a crater several miles deep and several dozen miles long. "The shockwave blast would reach further than the vaporization flash, but the detonation would reach further than the shockwave. That's why you need several to go off at once, so the shockwave radius will be increased. It's more effective, easier to manage and offers more leverage. So, is that why you've agreed to help me? You wanted me to make you a bomb so you could adopt the Venom military as your own?"

x-

Notes to self / thoughts, etc:  
(Have the sedan flip over from a road mine or something. Temporarily, make Kursed the anti-hero here or something. It could be fun to make her more than just some evil villainess.)

Other notes: Carey is a vixen, Kenton is a ewe (pronounced 'you', so do not use 'an ewe'), Tess is Fay's daughter, Miyu's goddaughter, and flew with Marcus in the last story's epilogue, along with Jack Thunder, under the supervision of Bernard Lee Thompson, a Lt. Colonel St. Bernard dog. He's sixty-eight and very proud of his high rank – sometimes egotistical, even. However, he's also a very good trainer.

Tess's vocabulary and knack for random trivial and exotic knowledge should be used often. No hair bows like Fay, she pins her hair up instead.

Other-other notes: To show how on-edge Corneria is getting, have something happen like, say, a fire breaks out from two academy pilots clipping one another then crashing in the city. Have the government jump to conclusions and assume it's another attack, until an investigation can prove otherwise. Need to decide whether or not the crash is a coincidence or is really something more sinister.

Side thought: consider making this fire (or other non-Venom related disaster) something Marcus has to deal with… partially for building character and partially to give him _future_ nightmares about Kursed, since he met her on Fichina in the middle of a massive fire. Yeah! That could possibly work! Then, maybe, have him dream about the campus fire in a later chapter, but have that dream mold into the Fichina fire, where he is once again confronted with a nightmare about killing Kursed with his bare hands. ...er, paws. Meh. Maybe that's tacky. Consider starting a dream that mixes both fire into one guilt-filled memory then have it change to a premonition about the future. That would be way cooler.

Fox is 54, going on 55 soon.  
Krystal is 48 in this story.  
Bill Grey is 53.  
Fara is 25.  
Marcus just turned 23 a month after the attack on his first dorm room.  
Bliss and Crimson O'Donnell are 22.  
Baby James is now about 18-19 months old.  
Falco is 55, going on 56 in a near-future chapter.  
Slippy Toad is about to turn 55.  
Beltino Toad should probably pass away during this story but, first, have him impart some sort of super secret knowledge to Theodore for purposes of intreague...  
Andrew Oikonny turned 53 a few weeks prior to the date of this chapter. Now that he's injured, in stasis, have his forces slowly fall in line behind Dash.  
Kursed should now appear to be about 29 years old but with a hint of gray and silver in her hair and fur.  
Miyu Lynx is approximately 52, but looks about 39-41 years old because felines age gracefully. Same for Katt Monroe.

time line:  
5 months ago, Bill and Fay begin dating.  
6 months ago, Marcus is attacked in his dorm.  
7.25 months ago, Fox, Krystal and their team returns.  
7.75 months ago, Marcus changes his name from 'Star' to 'Marcus' then Corneria's capital city is bombed.  
8.5 months ago, is in the middle of a coma after killing Kursed and learning that he's a father to Violet's baby.  
9 months ago, Kursed arrives in the realm.  
9.5 months ago, Marcus and Crimson meet Fara Phoenix.  
18.5 months ago, Violet gives birth to Marcus' first son but keeps it secret.  
26 months ago, Marcus and Violet go their seperate ways.  
27 months ago, Marcus and Violet try to maintain their rocky relationship but it falls apart.  
30 months ago, Marcus meets Crimson.  
33 months ago, Marcus and Bill Grey get an apartment together on Katina.  
33.75 months ago, Marcus meets Bill Grey.  
34 months ago, Peppy died in his sleep.  
39 months ago, Marcus meets Violet on Katina and they begin dating after a little static from Violet who is reluctant to tell him she's a Lombardi.  
61 months ago, Fara Phoenix wakes up from stasis.  
75.5 months ago, StarFox goes MIA after Andross attacks them. Marcus and Peppy are the only survivors.  
77 months ago, Marcus 'Star' McCloud finishes his Junior year in the academy and begins summer vacation.  
277 months ago, Marcus 'Star' McCloud is born - 7.8 pounds, 19-21 inches in length. Has a blue left eye and a green right one. His winter fur coat is orangish like his father, but with a visible blue-furred star over the side of his face. His summer coat is grayish-blue, closer to the tone of his mother.


	5. Graduation

A/N: _Wow. I started on this chapter June eleventh and got all the way to where Marcus and Fara are talking the day of graduation, before he goes on stage, and then I just… stopped for almost two weeks. I'll explain all the finer details at the end of the chapter; I just wanted to say SORRY for taking so long. _

Chapter -5-  
"Graduation"

**Marcus wiped the sweat from his brow with a sigh.** He and Jack carried out another fireman, the second injury of the evening. They set him down on a curb with two paramedics quick to approach. The older man, at nearly forty years old, looked up at McCloud and patted his arm. "You're okay in my book, kid. Thanks for the assist."

The fox offered a smile and said, "You guys are the real heroes of the night; you saved more of us than the other way around, sir. That's a nasty cut on your leg, Lieutenant. Feel better."

"Thanks again, kid."

Marcus nodded to Jack and the two parted ways then he cut through the gathered crowd of students, looking for Crimson. His friend's hostilities lingered in the air and so the fox began to shove, working his way across the crowded field. The pilot hurried to the best of his ability. He broke free of the gathered group, darting down to the science building. Quickly, he headed into the alley behind the large fancy complex.

Red's voice carried through the air. "And that doesn't tell me why I shouldn't stomp your scaly tail right here, right now!" The wolf stood beneath a street lamp at a dead end by the loading dock. He cocked his right fist, holding a lizard by the throat with his left paw. The reptile cringed.

"It wasn't me," shouted the Venom man. "I wasn't here to hurt anyone! Please!"

Without thinking, Marcus thrust his forearm behind Crimson's elbow, locking the hybrid back from being able to throw a punch. "Whoa, Red! Stand down, man!"

"Why should I?" shouted O'Donnell. "I'm going to kill his ass right here."

The lizard's amber eyes widened. "I didn't do anything!"

"Shut up!" Red snapped, gnashing his teeth in a threatening manner. An offered gawk, the lizard's jaw trembled and he cringed again. The half-breed wolf turned to Marcus and met his friend's intense glare. A stare-down began.

"If anyone should kick his ass, Red, it should be _me_," replied Marcus with a smirk. "But…" he broke the locked gaze and turned towards the lizard. "Now that I'm standing here _with_ him… I think he's telling you the truth, man." Both pilots turned to look at the reptile.

"I, uh… I'm Spencer. I came here for help. W-when those two fighters started doing strange stunts I stopped by the window and watched. They clipped one another with excessive force then one disappeared in the background. The other pulled a loop but lost control and came right for me. I… he… it was just so…" He paused and growled in frustration from the inability to speak his mind. "I got scared!" he shouted with an angry tone.

Red narrowed his eyes, looking over the lizard for a moment. Finally, he relinquished the grip on Spencer's throat. Marcus's paw slid out from behind the boy's right elbow who abruptly lowered his fist with a sigh. "What was that thing you were holding, earlier?"

Spencer's eyes dropped to the ground. "That _thing_ I dropped, here in this alley somewhere, was a model I built. It's a computerized data display panel that will show an accurate model of how to defeat Dash Bowman's core base. I intend to take it to Fara Phoenix and her General so the military can defeat that base… but it won't be easy. The only real way to do it is for a small squadron of ships to attack key weak points. It's too well guarded for anything more than a squadron… a superlative squadron."

Marcus and Crimson exchanged glances with one another. "Let's say I believe you," said McCloud. He stepped between the two, brushing Crimson back. Then, he turned to face the lizard and came nose to nose with the man. "And I do… and can tell when people are lying just by looking in their eyes… why only a squadron?"

"Because the only way to defeat the base is to _land_ on it," he explained. Spencer remained pressed up against the wall, still intimidated. "There's a way to beam an encrypted program code into their docking network interface. It's a security matrix algorithm designed for ships who are docking. Their computer connects to the base computer then it helps them dock or land. If you beam the virus to their receiving computer, it will let _you_ land. By the t-time a bridge officer realizes they're being boarded, it would be too late. The whole s-squadron would already be aboard. Therefore, a large strike force is out of the question."

"How do we disable the base? I want details."

Spencer looked to the right. "If I could just get my…"

Red lifted his fist again. "You're not getting anything, pal."

"Slow down," said Marcus. "I'll find the stupid thing. Listen to what he has to say." McCloud stepped from between the two and moved back into the darkness, searching with his sharp vulpine vision. The fox's night eyes gave him a superior edge in the low lit area.

O'Donnell growled. "Continue."

With a deep, reluctant breath, Spencer did as he was asked. "First, the 'elite guard' must be dispatched. They're called such but they're not really all that great. They're just the defense parameter stationed to remain close to the base. There's honestly nothing all that _elite_ about them. After that, you would need to take out certain defense turrets on the outside. Several would need to be blown up so that you can land without being shot at. The others are on the same circuit as certain interior components, which will become disarmed once you're inside; so yeah, destroying those turrets become important in two ways… not destroying the turrets before boarding would be fatal."

"Go on," said Red, lowering his fist again.

Spencer licked his lips and said, "This core base is… I mean, the entire station… it's…" He huffed sharply, stressed out and nervous. "It has key structural weak points. A detonation charge in the right places will cause the most curious situation all thanks to an architectural defect." He looked up at Crimson's demanding gaze and stammered. "I uh, well, it's uhm…" He pressed his body back against the wall and said, "The engineering section is a consummate sphere at the center. Perfection or not, it's also the base's weakness. If you break the right pillars, it will sink into the hold section and the base will begin to collapse."

"Uh huh." Red stuffed his paws into his front pockets. "And why are you looking for Fara Phoenix?"

"She rescued me," said Spencer. Then, in one lengthy sentence, he added, "I promised her quite some time ago that I would return the favor by delivering a method for destroying the core base Dash Bowman is building."

"This isn't a job for the military," said Crimson. "What made you think Fara would be at the academy?"

"I read in the tabloids that she's dating a student mercenary at the academy. It was in this morning's edition. Something about leaked photos. I saw her holding hands with someone in an academy uniform – the picture didn't look edited. I read that she frequents the campus grounds but she's usually on a mission. I was hoping to either find her or find someone who knows where she is."

Crimson hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "That guy back there is her boyfriend. Don't lie to him, you'll make him mad."

"I, uhm… have nothing to hide, sir. And, I swear to you I had nothing to do with that accident."

The pilot leaned forward and sniffed at the lizard. "I smell your fear, man. Your adrenaline, your nervousness… it reeks. You were at the wrong place at the wrong time. What else would a scum ball lizard be doing at the academy if he wasn't trying to use his little control box to sabotage some fighters?"

Rather suddenly, the lizard erupted, "I've only been on Corneria for a few months but I'm starting to get SICK and TIRED of the racism from over-opinionated jerks like _you_!"

"Oh yeah?" retorted Crimson in a threatening tone.

A voice echoed from further down the alley. "I found it, guys! Stop getting all excited, you two! I also found something _else_ of interest, so calm down, Red!" Marcus returned with a relaxed swagger in his step. "Fara's here. She said to keep your paws off of the hisser."

Spencer tightened his hands into fists. "Hisser? Must you two resort to such childish forms of racial slang?"

O'Donnell folded his arms across his chest. "Hush up, hisser." His eyes lowered then lifted, raking over the lizard from head to toe and back. After a moment of sizing up the rather geeky reptile, he frowned and tilted his head. "Don't forget, once upon a time, your people were dumb and blind enough to jump headlong into a war with Corneria… and they never even asked any questions. A lot of people resent lizards and think of you guys as un-evolved avians. I don't care what you say to prove me wrong – I'm not interested in hearing it. You guys are, yet again, following a simian into a bunch of trouble. Dash is bad news and you guys are dumb for siding with him."

"I'm _here _aren't I?" shouted Spencer. "And despite the way my kind speaks, you may have noticed that _I_ don't hiss! So don't call me by that trifling-ly offensive word you mammals are so fond of!" He turned to Marcus and in a demanding tone asked, "Where is Miss Phoenix?"

"I filled her in on the situation," said McCloud. "She's talking to a member of the academy staff out front." He approached Crimson and pushed the boy away from Spencer but continued speaking directly to the lizard. "She also feels the best method of strike hasn't yet presented itself. She feels that if we wait until it's fully functional we'll have the best opportunity to strike it. Unfortunately, that won't happen for some time. Anyhow," he released Crimson and walked back over to the reptile beneath the streetlamp. "Is there more than just the core base?"

"I… don't know." Spencer's eyes dropped again. "With Venom's economy, it's not likely. Possible but not probable. I want to prove myself – how can I help with the situation involving those two pilots who crashed a little while ago?"

"Stop trying to get involved," replied Crimson.

Despite the reptile's eyes widening and his offended balk, Marcus continued overtop of Crimson's words. "Agreed – listen, buddy… none of those students out there in the grass are doing anything right now. Don't get in the way of the authorities. Just let them do their job – that's how you can help best. If it's really an accident, the investigators will determine that and announce it later. _I_ believe you, though. So, please, calm down. You're so worked up it makes you hard to read."

"…Hard to read?" Spencer cocked an eyebrow. "You're… _reading_ me? His amber eyes flitted over Marcus. "Until now, I didn't even think much into it… your fur is somewhat blue. Are you one of those telepathic types, like that lady working for Venom?"

Marcus snorted in disdain. "Yes, like Kursed. I heard she was at large again… Let's not talk about her. If you truly want to help us, talk to me… I want StarFox to have the credit for taking down that base. So, by all means, what do you know about it?"

"I will tell you… but first, promise me you'll take me to Fara Phoenix. I need her protection. I…" He turned to Crimson then back to Marcus and sighed. "Apparently I'm a suspect of some sort. If you promise to send Fara, I will tell you everything I know then turn myself in. I'd rather be under the protection and custody of the Cornerian Government than for some crazy person in that crowd to tackle me like your friend, here." Again, his eyes cut back to Crimson then lowered to the ground.

"All right," said McCloud. "I'll escort you to the military police on campus. They'll keep you safe. She's pretty busy right now and will meet up with you later on at your holding cell. Until then, we're safe in this alley so tell me everything you know about that base."

_The next morning..._

**The bedroom lights illuminated and Marcus groaned.** The elder presence of Falco Lombardi filled his mind and, without opening his eyes, he said, "What, Falco?" The fox rolled over on his side, already falling back into a shallow slumber.

"You're on the morning news, kid. I'll turn it on for you – watch if you want while it's live." Seconds later, Falco left the room while the holographic television warmed up. The door swished shut and a reporter's voice filled the room. Marcus leaned up on his elbows then rolled over to face the rest of the room, watching the television over by the wall.

"…_And here, captured on footage from last night, we see two students managed to help military firemen from the blaze. The first clip we saw was of Crimson O'Donnell of the StarFox team while _this_ clip shows Marcus McCloud, son of Fox and Krystal McCloud, helping another. On the other side is another student, whose identity we're still investigating._"

"Jack Thunder," Marcus mumbled under his breath. A single lazy eye flitted open. Hovering above the emitter, he saw smoke billow out of an opening door. Marcus helped a slumped figure in bunker gear, followed by another fox, both of whom wore training fighter oxygen masks.

"Geeze," he said in a groggy tone. "What next?"

The anchor's voice continued. "_… From here, the son of Lylat Hero Fox McCloud, who fought back the Venom front line before returning to the academy for his final year, chases down and apprehends an Imperial Lizard. He is the only suspect under arrest at this time for involvement in the crash. Investigation is pending._" The image changed to the point where Marcus was escorting the lizard out of an alley and walked him over to the military police.

Another groan erupted from the tod. "Please tell me you're kidding."

Seconds later, the angle returned to the anchor at his desk. A picture of Fara Phoenix and Marcus, together in public with their paws joined, filled a square over the anchorman's shoulder. "_And it's no surprise that the darling of Phoenix Enterprises, the once eligible bachelorette, Fara Phoenix, is no longer eligible._"

"Just what we needed… publicity. So much for Fara's idea of staying private."

"_As we can see here, multiple reported sightings are popping up all around the area. Marcus with Fara, paw-in-paw, aren't just the only buzz topic – it appears romance is still in bloom even after Corneria's hardships. Here, we see Fay Spaniel and Acting General Bill Grey leaving the Theatre together. One of our off-duty constituents managed to catch up with them on the way into a sports bar, still dressed to kill. His girlfriend has a message for the general public, followed by shocking footage not suitable for all viewers_."

The image changed once more. Bill and Fay were laughing in harmony and, upon being approached by a cameraman, they came alongside one another and joined together at the elbow. A different man's voice asked, "_General Grey, are you dating? Who is your lady-friend, sir? Can you tell us about her?_"

Bill said, "I wouldn't want to sound less than professional by talking about relationships during times of war."

Quickly, the journalist said, "_Quite the contrary, General… people love knowing that it's okay to mend. They like knowing that some things will remain the same and that life will go on, sir! Can you tell us about your lady, General Grey?_"

Fay, in a fit of giggles, placed her head upon Grey's shoulder and said, "Fay Spaniel. We've been together for five months now and tonight is our first official outing. Not only that, we fully condone Corneria's healing. We don't want people sitting inside afraid to leave their homes. Get out and enjoy yourself. If you hide in your room, afraid of Venom, they've already won."

Bill eased his right arm around her shoulders then pushed his left forearm beneath her legs and lifted her. "I agree. Now, if you'll excuse us, Miss Spaniel and I are going to this sports bar at the end of the block. We want to find out what kind of billiards player she is." He offered a sly grin for a man of his age then carried her away from the camera.

"_General, one more question_!" Suddenly, a loud noise panned from left to right above the camera operator. They redirected the field of vision to a fiery M-Class fighter streaking across the night sky. It disappeared into the distance, followed by a distant rumble. "_Oh my goddess – Elisha, did you get that on tape?_"

An over-loud female voice said, "_I got it, Xavier, I think it crashed in the same district as the old chemical plant! …OH my word!" _The image zoomed in, showing flames rising into the air off in the distance.

Fay's voice returned to the audio track. "Look, over there!" The camera panned to the right, showing Fay back on her feet with her left arm elevated. The operator followed her finger to a large fireball near the commercial district.

Bill's voice. "Is that the academy?" He sounded incredulous. "Two at _once_?"

The feed ended, returning to the anchorman. "_With StarFox temporarily on hiatus, is Corneria still safe? And now this…_" A military commercial filled the area above the emitter, asking for youth to speak to their local recruiter.

Minutes later, Crimson walked into the room fully dressed. McCloud draped his left arm across his forehead, leaning back on his pillow. "_Yes_, Red."

"Wild, huh? So now Lylat knows you're dating a billionaire." He came across the room and sat down on McCloud's bed. "I hope you don't mind – Sugar is up here with me. She, uh, it's a little serious. Or, rather, it's starting to head that way."

Marcus offered a lame grin. "You mean you _want_ it to head that way. Yeah, man, it's fine. So long as she's not late for her classes, I don't mind."

"The fire destroyed about forty percent of the dormitory, man. There was only a few weeks left anyhow. At least for the seniors. You guys will probably skip right into graduation."

"That's not a bad thing," said McCloud, sitting up in bed. "We can get back to business sooner. I'm sorry you won't be part of it right away."

"It's only three years." Crimson offered his paw to Marcus and the two initiated their infamous, private handshake. They worked through the complex gestures and carefully choreographed maneuvers then ended with a fist-pound, knuckle to knuckle. "My GPA is good enough to carry me even if they keep the academy closed until fall. I'm just glad I'll be flying next year. The academic first year is really lame."

"Well, you're through it… I'm glad for you…" The fox paused then tilted his head. "I wonder if they'll have a graduation ceremony. I mean, a cap-and-gown event would only attract unwanted attention right about now… Still, I sorta' wouldn't mind walking across stage. Whichever, right? I just wanna' get back to business and blow something up. Heck, now that I think about it the idea of walking across stage seems a little on the trivial side. It's just one more thing for the media to blow out of proportion."

"No argument here." Crimson ran his paws back through his fiery locks of hair and slid off the edge of the mattress. "All right, I'm going to take an Arwing out. Mind if I take Sugar with me? I know they belong to us, not the academy, but I had to ask."

"What's the _first_ thing I said to you, when you walked in here?"

"…'Yes, Red'? You were saying _yes_ from the get-go?"

"You've had your answer all along," said McCloud with a nod. "Have fun." He grinned again then flopped back down on his pillow and yawned. The fox paused and concentrated then smiled. He sensed Fara was still onboard. He recalled her coming in last night and 'kissing him goodnight' as it were. He lifted his paw towards a bath robe draped over a nearby chair. He held his paw out in an expectant manner but nothing happened.

He'd heard from Spencer last night that Kursed had an apprentice-level ability to control physical objects. If she could do it, that meant he was capable of it as well. He wiggled his fingers and tried to think about the object floating through the air to him but nothing happened. "…Rats." A slight grin tugged at the corner of his muzzle, recalling the racial reptilian comment from his conversation with the nervous lizard. "Rats, hissers, jackass… what's the big deal? They're just racial stereotypes." Finally, he kicked off the covers and stretched again. "Reptiles have an entire encyclopedia they use on mammals and not one of them insults me." He eased his legs out of the bed then reached for his robe.

* * *

**With a tightly set jaw, the short ape moved **towards an ornately crafted railing on the observation deck. "Where are you, my dear?" Dash put his hand on the banister and sighed out of irritation. "What's on your mind, Kursed? Where are you hiding?" His eyes gazed beyond his reflection, as if studying some random sector of distant Lylat. "If only Andrew's mother was alive… I could certainly benefit from gaining the spirit perspective."

"Is that so?" The voice was deep and powerful. The very tone caused a shiver to run down Bowman's spine. He tightened his grip on the banister, half afraid to turn around. It spoke again. "And what do you know of the spirit perspective, let alone Andrew's mother?"

The question posed an irresistible urge to retort with witty banter but he felt intimidation in his chest, locking his body and his mind. His jaw parted and Dash felt dryness in his mouth. He forced words from his throat. "I… never thought I'd hear your voice in person. The recordings don't do it justice."

"Unlike you, his failures lacked compunction. Caroline had high hopes for your idiot cousin," said the man. "It's a pity the poor fool emotionally collapsed after her passing. And yet _you_ remained strong after _your _mother's death, boy. You offered Venom no true success but I will admit – you're far closer than Andrew could ever hope to accomplish." The voice paused but, before Dash could find words to speak again, the man continued. "Kudos on your clever rouse. Having a single ship built in atmosphere after displaying a faux loss is clever, but having an entire armada built by the Anglars, out of sight… brilliant."

The encouraging words gave Bowman the strength to turn around. …He was alone. His eyes flitted from left to right, catching sight of the west doors sliding shut. He hurried to the doorway, passed through and ran out into the hall. A soft tapping noise caught his attention. It sounded like the metallic tip of a cane rhythmically distancing itself from him. Dash went after it but by the time he reached the end of the hall, the noise stopped.

He whirled about and rubbed his temples. "The spirit perspective, perhaps? Is his ghost haunting this facility?" He paused, straining to listen but the tapping was gone. He clinched his hands into fists then opened them again. "That would explain the strange sensation of hair standing on the back of my neck in the observation deck…" Dash approached a small box mounted to the wall and pressed a key. The panel beeped. He punched in a five digit pin number then touched a green button.

"Bridge here."

"Captain, who is the head of my paranormal division?"

"Stand by, my liege." The reply came several minutes later. "It was disbanded by Andrew Oikonny three months ago. He felt it was useless."

"Useless?" Dash erupted. "His _mother_ was the head of paranormal studies for Andross! How dare he disband a team of scientists I handpicked myself! He's _lucky_ he's in stasis!" Bowman took a moment to calm himself then added, "Check the surveillance footage for this entire floor starting ten minutes ago until now. Forward the file to my personal inbox." Dash released the button on the panel and walked back towards the observation deck, practically seething but equally spooked. The doors slid open and he re-approached the banister. Something caught his eye and he gasped.

In the window's reflection, there was a silver object. He turned about, glaring at what _should_ have been an empty table by the empty bar counter. There it laid – an ancient tome, elegantly bound in a compilation of leather and fine silver. He lifted the book into his hands and studiously examined it. He drew his finger over the leather portions, surprised. "I thought flesh-binding was against galactic law…" His fingertips continued over the contours and texture of the impressive, heavy volume.

Finally he found the courage to open it. It was his grandfather's personal instruction manual on the design and construction methods for building a telekinetic amplifier. A hand-written note graced the first page in flamboyant calligraphic scrawl. It was penned with panache and élan.

It read, _'I found the initial design plans for this machine on Venom. However, upon further investigation, I've learned that this technology was imported from _another_ ancient civilization that predates even the archaic ruins found on planet Venom. As it turns out, the mighty Krazoa of Sauria dreamed this machine. I built one for myself but it was destroyed by the son of my enemy. During my stay on Sauria, eight years after the Lylat Wars concluded, I found something hidden beneath the bedrock. I never removed this machine but I believe it to be the __first__ telekinetic amplification device ever invented. It trumps my own creation in power by over __one hundred thousand__ fold. _

_I researched this machine but never put it to use during my time there. I believe it was used with elegance to control entire heavenly bodies – perhaps to divert catastrophe as these minds were of a non-violent population. From my ignorance and bastardized understanding of their complex language, I am almost positive this machine is what initially caused Sauria to break apart. The Krazoa, in their insurmountable and infinite wisdom, created four stones to counteract the effect. This technology not only held the planet together, it was designed to work forever. Several million years later, these stones still work dutifully and without fail. However, neither the technology nor the understanding exists to create four more stones and therefore the Krazoan telekinetic amplification machine would make the ultimate weapon. It would split Corneria into fractions and push the planet apart in such haste that even the dirt wouldn't have time to come apart. The atmosphere would dissipate, the gravity would become nonexistent and the core would fracture. _

_By my calculations, the splintered planet would break into more than five full pieces. Without an atmosphere, the population would die in a matter of minutes. The ones in bunkers would die in a matter of hours. The planet's core would implode like a dying star going supernova. It would draw in the fractured pieces and swallow them whole. The energy would be nearly immeasurable by any chart. However, I see no need to destroy Corneria in such a way… My passion was to rule it, not erase it. _

_This machine would not work against Sauria. There are too many things in place, invented by the Krazoa, to keep it from falling to the same fate. I removed the spell stones and, in fact, the planet _did_ come apart. But the core remained stable, the gravity kept the pieces from floating away and an atmospheric enhancer shielded the planet in a bubble. I continued to live upon Sauria while it was in pieces without killing the population. _

_The contents of this book will show how to build the same machine I invented in my youth. I've recently added my research on the Saurian machine. By combining the power of the spell stones, this machine can be effectively used against targets without ripping apart the planet upon which it rests. He who holds the key of power on Sauria will effectively rule Lylat without question. If you hold this book in your hands, it was gifted to you. As I have done in the past until now, let no other know of its existence. _

_-Andross Oikonny_.'

"…My god." Dash closed it then brought the book to his chest.

* * *

_Seventy-two hours later…_

**Marcus gagged** then reached for his throat. "Too tight, Fara," he muttered, trying to push a finger behind the bowtie knot in order to loosen it from his neck. "What's the big deal about stage graduation, anyhow?"

"It's the highest honor to graduate from _any_ institution," she replied, toying with the knot of his bowtie. "Hold still and I'll fix it. You're struggling, so it's hard to get this right. The bowtie is the _only_ tie that is visible at the collar of a graduation gown with this neckline. That's why you wear one. It's professional and traditional. And, damn it, it's sexy so hold still." She tugged on it then gave a grin.

"Are you going to attend?"

She shrugged. "I don't see why not, everyone knows we're dating now… It was funny to see my family's reaction. My living siblings look down on me for 'dating another mercenary' and all that drama. I don't let it concern me. Let them judge – they'll eventually learn to respect my heart. Listen, it may have been a secret we were dating, but it's no secret that I love you."

He smiled brightly. "I love you, too." His paws came to her hips to steady himself while she worked on the fabric beneath his chin. Once it was fixed, she leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose.

Her gaze met that of her beau. "You have about twenty minutes before you've got to be on stage."

"It's just a speech by the dean, Fara – I bet mom and dad are already at the auditorium. It seems like _everyone_ is going to be there. I mean, this is the first batch of graduates since the attack on Corneria …_and_ the first since the location change to the new campus. Even the General is here. I also heard the Prime Minister is going to give a speech."

"Indeed," she replied, adding, "Security is unbelievable. Even top secret projects, back in my youth, didn't receive _this _much security."

"I don't even sense anything," replied Marcus. "I, uh… meditated when I got up this morning." He tilted his head a bit then shrugged. Finally, he offered her a smile and told her, "No dreams, no strange visions or awkward feelings. I highly doubt anyone is going to attack the graduation ceremony. I mean, I don't see why not – it's the best opportunity to hit everything… StarFox, both the old and the new… The planetary leaders of both Corneria _and_ Katina are in attendance. Not to mention, the military leaders, two telepaths and the mastermind behind Corneria's new covert operations training… one big bomb would cripple Lylat's entire interplanetary confederation."

"I'll admit I've been nervous about this gathering for a few days now."

He returned with another shrug. "I sense no hostilities in the air. My mother doesn't either or she would have contacted me by now. With the guard and the military in place, the asteroid belt is nearly impenetrable today. Even Venom's most clever spies are forced to use nothing more than long range scanning devices. There won't be an attack – trust me."

"I hope you're right," said Phoenix. "I feel like every silly occurrence and every nervous comment from everyone I've spoken to… is a sign in its own right. You'd think they would have the ceremony in a bunker, instead of the campus courtyard." She sat down on a wooden stool and folded her paws. "This is coming from a woman who does not subscribe to any theory unless it's backed by proven science… but a woman's intuition can also be a powerful thing."

"Instinctive decision making and intuition _is_ backed by science. It's proven in the law of averages. But trust me, hon… Today is going to be fine. It'll be a little boring but fun nevertheless. I'm glad I'm not out there right now."

"Why is that?" Fara interlaced her fingers and crossed one leg over the other.

"Because right now, the valedictorian types are out there giving speeches."

Phoenix tilted her head and furrowed her brows. "Weren't you asked to give one, too?"

"I politely declined," he replied with a chuckle and another hunch of his shoulders. "I give orders not speeches." The fox's left paw found its way to a loose thread in the graduation gown. He began to toy with the errant string until Fara swatted at his paw.

"Don't destroy it," she said, lowering her ears somewhat. "You'll want to put that away somewhere. One day, James will wear it to _his_ ceremony. Had the capital not been decimated, you'd be wearing _your_ father's graduation gown. It's a damn shame Fox lost a great deal of his belongings... He said everything left at his father's old house was unimportant, but still..." She checked her watch then grinned. "Only fifteen minutes. Feeling nervous?"

"His graduation, well… it's a long story (C1 RoFM). Anyway, why would I feel nervous?" Marcus placed his paws at his sides to keep from getting fidgety. "I'm full of bored energy because I have plenty of work to accomplish with Falco, Theodore and Vivian. There's a lot to do and I'm ready to get right back into the thick of it. I feel bad that Crimson can't be with us for a few more years but right here, right now… StarFox has its plate full and I want to put my attention on that. We need to start running patrols and gathering intelligence. I want to learn more about that core base so we can act accordingly. Like I said, we have a full plate."

Fara grinned at him. "I guess I'd better hurry and wrap it up with my trainees so I can help you guys."

Marcus moved to one knee adjacent to her. "It's nothing the four of us can't handle. Finish your training the right way, without rushing… that way Violet's new boyfriend doesn't get himself killed making a rookie's mistake."

She offered him a nod and a half-smile. "I can't help but tell you again I appreciate your ability to be understanding with me."

"So what do you want to do after this shindig ends?"

The petite vixen patted the side of his muzzle with her gentle paws. "Everything and anything. We'll eyeball it after the ceremony, okay?"

"Sounds good to me." The fox gave a tug at his gown to free it of wrinkles then shrugged. "A little more than ten minutes left before I've gotta go out there and sit in a little chair on the side of the stage. …Neat."

She massaged her fingers into his facial fur and said, "Your parents want to see you out there and take pictures. You'll want to see _your_ pups do the same one day."

"I guess I should get out there or whatever. I just never cared much for sensationalist stuff."

Fara dropped her paws from his face and laughed. "Just like your father!" She gave him a swat on the tail and told him, "Smile when they hand you the certificate, Marcus. I have my camera so don't disappoint me."

"Yes, ma'am!" They shared a kiss then he left the ready room and headed for the staging platform.

Three journalists came from their hiding spots back stage but Marcus was ready for them. He lifted his paw, politely smiled and said, "Let's wait until after the ceremony so I'm not late, guys."

"Just one quick question," asked one of them. "Is it true you're in a relationship with Fara Phoenix?"

Marcus returned a sly grin. "She's in attendance, why don't you ask her?"

"We caught up with her about half an hour ago," said the first one. "She said to ask _you_. We just want to make sure our story is legit. Are you guys romantically involved?"

Marcus lifted his index finger to the corner of his muzzle, rubbed at his lips then reached his finger out and left a light red stain on the woman's white blouse sleeve. "She uses shade number forty-seven, 'Sway' of the CLC cosmetics line – it tastes like ...strawberries." He waved and pushed through the trio. "See you guys after the show."

McCloud continued through the backstage area, snickering to himself then came alongside the stage. He whispered to one of the security members and said, "There are three journalists back stage – they're loaded to the teeth with bribe money. If you want to get in on that action or kick'em out… that's up to you." He moved onto the stage, nodded to several of his classmates and took a seat in the third row of chairs. Other seniors continued to trickle in, filling up the surrounding seats, while waiting for the ceremony to start.

Out in the dark auditorium, beyond the bright stage lights, several camera flashes dotted the void. He sensed that at least one of them belonged to his mother – a grin tugged at the corner of his muzzle. Out there with them in the crowd, Fara joined, followed by Crimson and his roommate. Falco was somewhere in the crowd with Lucy and Vivian Hare.

He canted his head a bit then his eyes widened somewhat. Theodore, Amanda and Slippy Toad were among those in the crowd. William Grey, Miyu Lynx, Fay and Kenton Miramar – the lady who worked with Miyu until recently – were all in attendance. His eyes shifted again, sensing nameless others who came out to see Marcus "Star Fox Junior" McCloud graduate. He couldn't help but twiddle his thumbs beneath the gown.

'_Relax, sweetheart_,' said his mother from across the auditorium. '_They're all very proud of you. Ease your disdain of this sort of thing… embrace the idea of fandom. This new StarFox could be a newer, more public-friendly version of the team. You're the son of a reclusive celebrity who doesn't talk to the media… if you play your cards differently, this new iteration of StarFox could have twice the potential and three times the public support. It's all part of your new business… the more positive your public opinion, the more likely you will be to obtain the better jobs from richer clients. Consider it_.'

He tilted his head, musing over her words with a thoughtful expression. His mind moved to Falco, scanning him then Crimson. Both of the pilots enjoyed receiving public worship and loved being in a spotlight. With Crimson remaining in school over the next three years, he knew the team would only consist of Falco, Theodore Toad and Vivian Hare. All of them possessed an outgoing personality. '_Perhaps you're right, mom_.' He leaned back in his chair and pondered her advice.

His reverie came to an abrupt end with the boisterous voice from an announcer over the public address system. A small orchestra group began to play a musical theme often associated with graduations. The announcer returned to silence and the crowd began their applause. Moments later, the room became quiet and a goofy looking man took his place at the podium. He introduced himself to the audience as the head of the academy. He thanked the valedictorian of each grade for giving speeches half an hour ago then politely explained to the assembly that there was another high grade pilot who declined to give a speech. When he said the name, everyone clapped. The crowd fell into a soft chanting, simply saying the word, '_speech_'.

'_Now is your chance_,' Krystal thought to her son. Marcus cringed at the notion of saying anything to the public without first preparing for it. It wasn't supposed to happen like _this_. Her voice continued in his mind. '_Address yourself to Corneria, the media, Lylat and the population. Promise them peace and safety. Assure them that there will be no more bombs like the one that rocked the Capital last year. Say anything you want – joke with them, be their friend. Take questions if you like. The spotlight is on you, hon_.'

Indeed, the spotlight shifted to Marcus, illuminating his form. He stood up, almost reluctantly at first. Slowly, the fox made his way up to the podium and watched in some measure of awe as the other man stepped aside. He swallowed back his hesitation then approached the microphone.

"I declined to give a prearranged speech and got suckered into doing one anyway… guess I should have accepted the invitation in the first place, so I could have at least prepared something for you guys." A slight chuckle murmured through the crowd. Marcus glanced back at his classmates then lifted his right paw to accentuate his wording. "I'm not much of a public speaker and there's nothing I did any differently than anyone else who is graduating here, today.

"I, uh, didn't break any records and goodness knows, I stood under the shadow of several belonging to my father… I didn't intend to be anyone's, uh… well, anyone's _hero_ when the dormitories caught fire, either. In both cases, I just did what had to be done. I've always flown just the way my parents taught me as a kit – fly with my heart first and my gut will follow. Here, at the academy, they teach you to fly with your brain. Between the two styles, I hope to be the best possible pilot I can be.

There are a lot of talented people behind me, right now. Any one of them could be the next big name on a commemorative inscription on some Cornerian plaque. While not all of them are here to be fighter pilots, the majority of these flyboys _are_ here to fight. And thanks to _them_, Lylat will be a safer place." Applause ensued, aiding his confidence. Marcus waited for it to die down then he licked his lips and started speaking again. "I'm lucky. As most of you now know, I'm dating Fara Phoenix. Without her, I don't know what I'd be doing today. I probably would have skipped out on this ceremony. She's partially the reason I successfully flew against Venom last year. She's an amazing teacher.

Then there is my mother and father. Who could ever argue that I was or was not lucky to grow up under their tutelage? One of the largest factors in my life came from living with General Peppy Hare…" The crowd interrupted him with another serenade of applause. He never expected that and was glad so many people remembered Peppy in a fond light.

Marcus folded his paws on the podium and grinned. After a moment, he continued with his adlib speech. "How is my impromptu oration so far?" Another short burst of applause. "Okay, I'm glad; it's going better than I thought." He paused and listened to immediate thoughts throughout the room then drew in a deep breath. "It's time to address some concerns. First of all, we need to stop worrying about Venom's next move. The security is so good, today, that _no one_ is attacking this place. They didn't even try to set anything up. I would have sensed otherwise – they have every intention of sitting at home and watching this ceremony on their holo-vision." The crowd lit up again. It gave him a little power trip but he was quick to stifle the sensations of excitement.

"I can assure you that the new StarFox is a trained, academy licensed and responsible group of pilots. Falco Lombardi, Vivian Hare and Theodore Toad are better pilots than any Wing Commander could ever ask for. We're prepared to bear arms and lay down a line of security to protect Corneria, Katina and the other members of the Interplanetary Defense Council. We've trained and will continue to train; we are ready and able to safeguard your homes, families and everything these Lylat planets stand for. StarFox now has one single objective – to find the raw ore used to make that bomb last year. I'm one of _you_ – yes, my mother is from a distant world, but I'm born, raised and educated right here in Lylat. My ideals are the same as your own. My heart and my home are right here on Corneria. And when I say I'll use every fiber of my being to stop Venom's advances and advocate peace between our worlds, I _mean it_." More applause, but because he was on a roll, he continued to speak through the crowd's excitement. "I'm committed to stopping Andrew Oikonny and Dash Bowman in their tracks.

"With these wonderful pilots behind me, rest assured I will do everything in my power to make Lylat safe again. StarFox is committed to _you_ and, hopefully, regardless of this pledge, you'll be committed to StarFox. Thank you for keeping the academy open, Corneria. Thank you for giving me the chance to finish school. Thank you for giving me the chance to help. It's all I've ever asked for." He waved politely and ended with, "I'm Marcus McCloud. If you try your best and put a little bit of passion into your desire to succeed, you can do anything. With the right support, you can overcome any objective. You've supported me and now I want to return the favor. Thank you for having me, today." The speech ended with a vibrant reply from the crowd. He smiled, waved again then headed back to his seat.

Adrenaline coursed through Marcus' body. A tender thought from his mother had him blushing from excitement. He heard the Dean speaking again but wasn't able to focus on the man's words. He hyper-focused on Fara's thoughts and sensed her pride. McCloud, all riled up, did his best to will himself into relaxing. Moments later, an announcer began calling the students, last name first, to come up and receive their diploma.

Marcus finally received his turn. He made his way up to the podium, shook the Dean's paw with his left and took the ribbon-tied scroll in his right. Applause, somewhat louder than other students received, filled the auditorium…

* * *

…**Dash Bowman glared at his reflection in the dark television screen.** He tossed the remote control to a nearby chair and folded his arms across his chest. Dust wafted up from the seat then abruptly dissipated. "Well, the little brat made it this far… With a full team of credited academy grads, they'll be sure to get more work and, ultimately, get in my way. Knowing what Theodore is capable of, let alone the raw talent of their current combat ace, Falco Lombardi… I feel this new StarFox is a threat." He tore his gaze from the dark screen and scowled at a nearby lizard. "Finish loading up Herbert (C7 RoFM) and gather any other clues or information you can from this place. We're returning to Venom tonight."

The lizard left the subterranean bedroom but another came in through the same door. The man saluted then said, "Lord Bowman, we've received disturbing intelligence from planet Venom! An attempt has been made on your private warehouse! We believe the radioactive metal may have been stolen or is, at the very least, in extreme jeopardy! There was a report of two females, possibly vixens, spotted on location."

Dash clinched his hands into fists and said, "Thank you. You're dismissed." He waited until the door closed behind the reptile then opened his personal communicator. A moment later he lowered his eyes to the screen and said, "Well, Doctor Granton, it appears your little girlfriend is growing to be a thorn in my side. It also seems she has help. Your time table is growing shorter by the moment – finish building my new weapon with the materials at your current disposal. You have forty-eight hours. I'm leaving Papetoon now and when I arrive on Venom, I will want to see positive results."

"I _told you_ the stones wouldn't be there – I was _right _wasn't I?" Her voice was tinny over the communicator's speaker.

"And yet… Fox McCloud left this old hideout stocked and ready for use. Other than upholstery, this den is clean and livable. Now that I know of the location, I'll be sure to monitor it closely in the future… Also, I found something very, _very_ interesting."

Carey Granton's face contorted into a moue of disgust on the small screen. "I'm sure it's another dead-end artifact that amounts to nothing more than a waste of time, Mister Bowman."

"No, my dear doctor." Dash replied to her expression with a devious grin. "In their youth, the bandits of StarFox – led by Fox McCloud – abducted an android belonging to my grandfather. This is the consciousness of Herbert Dengar saved into the databanks of a machine. Andross kept him around for conversation and some measure of comfort… this machine was with Andross Oikonny throughout the construction phase of his telekinetic amplification device. By utilizing Herbert's memory, I'll have a video tutorial on how to work with the plans I recently acquired…"

Granton rolled her eyes. "How in the heck does a machine that can simulate telekinesis help you win a war?"

Dash leered at the small screen. "Please, for one time, would you _think_ with that magnificent brain of yours, my dear prisoner...? Corneria can spot an Interplanetary Ballistic Missile on their sensor screen. They'll shoot down every single IPBM I could ever hope to throw at them… but if I had the power of telekinesis, I could hurl a nuclear bomb at them and they would _never_ see it coming. I would use a stealth drive from one of our stealth fighters… I would cloak the missile casing… and I would sling it at Corneria using the power of telekinesis. Completely silent and undetectable!"

"Who is to say I haven't figured out how to bypass the circuitry on this communicator you've given me… Who is to say I haven't already contacted Corneria, Bliss and everyone else in Lylat by now? Stop getting excited, your little power trip is annoying me."

Bowman brought the communicator close to his face, glowering. "Because your field is in quantum physics and mechanics with a secondary and tertiary degree of training in relative theoretical fields… you're smart but you don't have the know-how in electronics or communication science to reverse engineer that communicator's lockout program. Second of all, you lack the necessary skills in software hacking to make use of the computers at your disposal… I'm confident you cannot contact ANYONE but _me_. Now stop yammering and start working… I expect results in _forty-eight hours_ or there will be another _torture_ session when I return."

Carey's eyes lowered, giving her on-screen appearance a rather dismal looking expression in reply to his words. She nodded softly and said, "It'll be done by the time you arrive." She sighed then closed the channel – her visual disappeared.

Dash put the phone in his pocket then picked up a picture frame resting on a nearby shelf. His eyes raked over the visual of James McCloud and an eight-year-old version of Fox McCloud then he placed the photograph back on the dresser. "It's time to bring about an _end_ to the McCloud family legacy. You and your ilk have caused enough trouble."

With a smirk, the simian left the room and headed for the exit. He pushed the door open on creaky metal hinges and stepped out into the dry Papetoonian air. His palms came to his hips with a sigh, followed by announcing, "The stones are not here anymore! We're too late! However, I have found something of immeasurable value abandoned in the storage closet! This mission may not have been success as per the standards of our initial plan, because the missing spell stones are NOT stored here… but the deactivated android pig belonging to my grandfather is an _invaluable_ and _awesome_ discovery! This is, by far, the most paramount moment of the Bowman Administration! Everyone, I want you to clean up your gear and return to your ships! Fate has handed us a new trump card and I intend to celebrate!"

The squadron of reptiles and a group of marmosets responded with light applause, shouts and a whooping whistle. Dash Bowman left the abandoned StarFox hideout and walked to his waiting shuttle. The chauffer lowered a boarding ramp for him then secured the door once Dash was inside. The reptile pilot quickly made his way to the front of the small ship and climbed into the cockpit. It was the first of seven small shuttles to leave the dusty site.

The ape leaned back in a cushy seat and smirked. He put his legs up on an ottoman and muttered, "Now Corneria will pay. And you General Grey, my old mentor, (Pre-SF:Command) …you're days are numbered as well, old man."

* * *

**A/N**: _So, I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter posted. A lot happened, including a week vacation with my oldest son, Richie. Also, I inadvertently set my gaming PC on FIRE… and… yeah. Someone recently PMed me, asking about my gaming PC. I thought nothing of it, until a second PM from a Sly Cooper reader asked the same thing. Back-story time, then I'll explain the computer fire. Okay, for any of you calling yourself 'computer savvy' this will amuse you a lot more than the average-Joe, for no apparent reason. _

_So, I have TWO desktops. One is an XP machine for my older games that don't work on Vista. The other is my Vista machine for all the latest stuff. I've built these machines for gaming… Now, on my Vista box, I was still using an old Gateway case, which is designed for a smaller ATX motherboard. I install a brand new Nvidia 9800 GTX graphics card, which is so damn long it touches the bottom of my hard drive cage. Well, the soldering for the PCI-E power jack (it takes two, btw), comes up out of the plastic chip backplate at this end of the overly-long card. That touches the metal drive cage, which – of course – is connected to the rest of the case. Touchy-touchy! It completes a circuit, albeit a _short circuit_ and so, when I plug it in, the card abruptly catches on FIRE. _

_Let this be a lesson to people who WANT an Nvidia 9800 series video card. Unless your stock case on your factory assembled name-brand computer happens to be at least 12 inches long… DON'T INSTALL THIS CARD. Get an 8800 ultra. Sorry, but your case is too small. _

_For those of you, who opt to cut into your case or your hard drive cage to make it fit, BE CAREFUL. Luckily for me, the side was off of my case because I was kinda' admiring the size of this card during installation. That made it easy for me to yank the plug then quickly put out the small component fire. What can I say? The NVidia 9800 GXT is so fast it's smokin'! It blazes. It's flaming fast but tends to get a little hot, even before full load. xD _

_Seriously, though, burnt plastic smells HORRIBLE. _

_So, yeah, I got a new case. The new card arrived Monday night._

_I need to update my motherboard and power supply soon so I can run in SLI mode but, first, I have a few friends to pay back. Personal loans are the worst. Btw, the multi-monitor command center featured in the outtake of chapter four was based on my four-monitor L-shaped workstation. I know I usually never talk computer hardware to you guys, but I can be downright SLIPPY TOAD about my gear when I get into it. _

_Computer junkies love to talk about their gear, just like car buffs love to talk about their machines. _

_I run my Vista box with total of 1.4 terabytes in hard drive space (raid zero stripe with a secondary half-tera backup drive for storing junk files), 3 gigs of ram on a 32 bit OS platform, and power it with a 600 watt power supply. I have a 4 gig readyboost card in one of the rear USB ports. That is its only function, I never remove it. I have a typical DVD burner, but also have a Sony Bluray drive for entertainment. I have a Sound Blaster 'Fatal1ty edition' X-Fi audio card with 64 mbs of ram, a dual-tuner Hauppage WinTV card so I can record two TV channels at the same time, and I run an Nvidia 9800 GTX. I use an Intel Core2 Quad 6600 (2.4 x4 ghz) on an Intel 965 ATX board (See why I need to upgrade my mobo? Yeah, I know, right?) with the ram amped up to 700 mhz, running at a straight-five latency. Can someone say fifteen? Weee. _

_On this rig, I have two 22 inch monitors (hdcp supported, of course, for the bluray drive). Broadstripe internet (12mb/s) is on a D-link wireless N card. My audio system is a 200 watt (rms, with 400 watt peak) Logitech although I have my eyes on studio monitors because they sound so damn good. We'll see, though. _

_On my XP box, I'm running a thermaltake case with a 2.8ghz Pentium D. That guy has a 450 watt power supply, 160 gig parallel ATA Seagate drive with a backup drive for storage dumping – External E-Sata 750 gig WD MyBook drive. Two DVD burners, an Nvidia 8800 GTX, Sound Blaster X-Fi Audio edition card, Hauppage WinTV PCI-E 1x card, a 19 inch monitor (mounted above the left-side 22 inch for the vista box) and a 27 inch monitor, just because it's rad. This box also runs 3 gigs of pc5300 ram, but it is at factory settings, 667 mhz. I don't recall if the latency is 12 or 15 because I'm too lazy to check my bios on this box. Ram… the only thing one can easily overclock on an Intel brand board. _

_Typing comes natural on a Microsoft Seven Thousand series 'entertainment edition' keyboard and mouse, Bluetooth v3. ALSO, sitting on my L-shaped workstation desk is an Xbox 360, a gamecube with the ever rare component cables, and a PS3 (80gig version). The Wii will come when I have the loot. I keep every Nintendo ever made hooked up beneath my workbench. They're all hooked up to the 27 inch, via a radioshack composite box. I also have my Dreamcast hooked up down there. It's not just a command center, it's an entertainment center. YAY – ahem. _

_However, I rarely leave these machines running unless I'm gaming. If I want to surf the web, check email or just work on a chapter, I'll use my newest laptop, which I've also upgraded beyond factory settings. It's a Toshiba U-305 series Satellite. It runs a 1.6ghz Core2 Duo Centrino and came with 2 gigs of ram and 160 gigs of hard drive space. It also came stock with an Intel 802.11 G card. I, uh… hehe, I updated almost everything. Now, this tiny little 4.5 pound notebook has 4 gigs of ram, a 250 gig WD scorpio hard drive, and I changed the Intel wireless card to an Intel 802.11N card because the factory one was NOT soldered into the board. It was sitting on a plastic mount, screwed in to a metal plate. It zooms. And it's so small! 13 inches, lol. It's cute, if I dare say m'self. And that concludes that. _

_For the tech junkies out there, I hope you're satisfied. That was a lot to type. I used to be a laptop gamer back in the day… but as of 2005, I started getting into desktop gaming. I started building back when Pentium 4HT was the big ticket item. _

_I'm pleased with my gear, and I know at least one of my readers, John Settino, has an equally competitive machine; he's a guitar player in one of my music side projects and he's very dedicated to following the Marcus / New Gen story arc. He's also a computer junkie like me. Core2 Duo 2.4ghz, I believe, with SEVEN hard drives, totaling in well OVER a terabyte. Four gigs of ram, SLI Nvidia 9600 cards, with as many monitors as myself (for just one machine, I believe). He runs a Sound Blaster X-Fi Audio-edition card with a seven hundred watt power supply and uses the coveted Thermaltake ARMOR case. _

_Must be nice, eh? Lol_

_Okay I yammered on way too long today. I'm going to go and teach my eight year old some finer points on StarFox Command, followed by a few rounds of F-Zero, head to head. (that's why I keep telling you guys not to get into premarital relationships; I became a dad as a teenager. Now add a mere eight and a half years to figure out my approximate age. Lol, or you can go to my bio and click on my homesite link! xD! I'm so dang hyper today!) _

_Toodles!_


	6. Discovery

A/N: _This chapter is dedicated to all the reviews I got for Chapter 5, asking to see certain characters show up in the story again. Leon, Violet and Comm. Officer Lieutenant Chester make an appearence here. See, toljda I listen to you guys!_

_:D_

Chapter -6-  
Discovery

**The bleary eyed fox sat down** in front of a flat panel monitor in his bedroom. He ran his paw up through his headfur and squinted at the brightly illuminated screen. "I've just not seen you in quite some time, Mister O'Donnell. What brings you to call, especially at _this_ hour?"

"Just get your scrawny little tail over here, kid. Come alone but bring money – you're buying what I've got to show you. And trust me... you'll want to pay every penny you have to get your mitts on _this_. Hell, your father will want in on this, too… but for right now, don't get him involved. He and I don't see eye to eye with one another so – yeah, what're you waiting for? Meet me on Macbeth, kid."

"I'm not sure how much I should bring."

"That's because you can't read my mind from across Lylat," replied Wolf with a chuckle. "A half-million credits. Think you can manage that much?"

Marcus' eyes widened. "What the heck for?"

"Just trust me," said Wolf. "Let's just say you're buying your own graduation gift, kid. Hurry up – I'll meet you in two hours. I'm going to close this channel now; the coordinates will be in text form just in case someone's listening in. Like I said, come alone. I don't want any drama." The communication ended with a series of letters and numbers appearing on the screen. The twenty-three year old pilot jotted down the coordinates on the padded palm of his paw then turned off his screen.

Marcus stood up, walked back to his closet, dressed himself in a t-shirt, vest and denim pants then headed for the hanger. Within minutes, he launched alone from GreatFox, immediately calling Fara from his fighter. The GreatFox logo filled the screen, waiting for her to answer the personal hail. Seconds later, her face filled the screen. He could tell she was still lying on a pillow. Her feminine voice was soft and silky. "Hey, you're not on the ship?"

He shook his head. "I'm on my way to Macbeth. This is a really strange request but I need a favor – I'll pay it back. Can you transfer five hundred thousand credits into my personal account? My instincts tell me that it will be pretty important and I can't really offer much more information than that because… I don't have any explanation."

Fara reached a paw up to her camera, pushing it back while sitting up in bed. "Yes, I'll do it right away. Is everything all right?"

"I think so," he said, punching in the coordinates on his dashboard. "I'll explain as soon as I figure out what's going on. I love you." He offered her an appreciative smile then closed the channel and engaged his hyper drive. The Arwing disappeared from the quadrant, leaving a fluttering glitter of wake in its place.

* * *

_Two hours later…_

**McCloud slid from atop of the tarp-covered Arwing**. He dropped to his feet and watched the Wolfen descend over the meeting spot. A soft hiss of steam gushed from beneath the main exhaust vent then the cockpit eased back on rails. Wolf O'Donnell, in his mid fifties, moved over the side then slid down from where one-of-many wings met the hull. He dropped to his feet and smirked. The timber wolf wore his old black eye patch and a faded blue sweater with comfortable looking pants.

O'Donnell cleared his voice then lifted the hem of his shirt so that Marcus could see his belt had no weapons on it. "Now I could have just kept this stuff for myself. My wife would probably want it but I'm trying to make some money after the loss I took on that damn radioactive crap." He approached McCloud and snatched a necklace from around Marcus' neck, examining it. "What's this crap?"

" It's a pendant with a pebble – the only one left in existence… it was from Cerinia." The younger fox couldn't read all the details from Wolf's mind. He tilted his head and asked, "And… do I even want to know what you're talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, kid." Wolf brought his right shoulder against McCloud's left, brushing through the smaller vulpine pilot. He continued walking in a straight line, heading towards a large rocky looking hill nearby. "This old dustbowl of a planet has a pretty wild secret. The ground is so damn hard that it allows the interior to be nearly hollow. And, yet, the surface doesn't collapse because the hard ground won't cave in. In some parts, there isn't a natural pillar or connection with the mantle for _miles_. Just the bottom of the surface over yer' head and the top of the mantle beneath yer' feet. Forty-five percent of this old rock is like that – pretty crazy, huh?"

"Thanks for the lesson in…"

Wolf waved his paw in a dismissive fashion. "Shut up, kid." They neared the base of the rocky looking hill. O'Donnell approached a bolder, placed his back against the side of it and his feet against a crevice then pushed. The bolder flopped over exposing a cave entrance. "This cavern is an old airshaft for a mining operation. I think the last time it was in use was a year before the Lylat Wars. Pay attention, pup." He stepped inside and waved for Marcus to follow. "I expect the full payment up front. I don't finance and I don't do layaway."

Marcus tried to probe Wolf's mind but, for some reason, was unable to do it. "If your wife would want this, why would _I_ be the next recipient in line?"

The two continued down a smoothly carved granite path in the dark. The way McCloud's voice echoed off the cavern walls, he could tell that the path was opening up around them. Up ahead, Wolf cracked open a bright red flair then held it like a torch. It hissed, crackled and popped for a moment then grew in intensity. The room was a large open area, far beneath the ground. A massive wall covered the eastern side but the north and the west ends expanded off into what felt like infinity.

The south-facing exit was a tiny bright white spot at the top of a smooth ramp behind them. Half-embedded in the east wall was a gigantic crate. O'Donnell approached the front panel and turned to face Marcus. "Now, I'm a businessman, so I'll let you _see_ the merchandise and even take a few minutes to authenticate them. But I'll expect to be a half-million credits richer five minutes from right…" He paused to glance at his wristwatch then added, "_Now_."

Marcus snatched the flair from Wolf, not quite sure where the lupine previously hid it while on the surface. Part of him surmised that the crackling flair was left inside the entrance, just beyond his initial view – he decided to stay weary incase Wolf had weapons hidden in the area. A few feet away, there was a large pushcart and tightly wound rope. He returned his focus on the crate imbedded in the wall and used the handle of the flair to wedge the wooden cover away from the container. The old nails creaked against the wood until he pried it apart.

The front end of the large container, a little taller than he stood, eased open. He peered in through a corner and scrunched his brows then he walked to the left side and pried the nails from the wood on that end. The entire side of the crate dropped to the dusty ground with a loud echo following it. Marcus cringed at the noise then thrust the flair towards the opening.

"Four minutes, kiddo. You've actually _got _the funds, right?"

"Yeah," said Marcus, stepping into the crate. The flair cast flickering shadows against a metallic object hovering four feet above the ground. As he approached it, he could make out a faded number _ten_ painted on the top. The object extended back, widening in girth. He moved to the left and used the flair to illuminate a small engraving. He read the words aloud. "Little Wyvern." He cut his head towards Wolf and cocked a brow. "Little dragon? Isn't that what a Wyvern is? A dragon?"

"Shut up and read the rest, kid." Wolf smirked. "Yeah, a dragon with wings, breathes fire and crap… usually no legs, but with the tail of a snake. Whatever; it's all mythical creature hoopla."

Again, Marcus scrutinized the engraving. He brought his free paw up, brushing away dust. His fingers sank into half-covered parts of the engraving then his eyes widened. He simply blurted out, "J. McCloud?" He blinked three times then walked further into the crate until Wolf couldn't see the flair any longer.

Wolf cleared his throat loud enough to cause an echo. "Do we have a deal? All sales are final, kid."

A minute later, Marcus reemerged from the half-embedded crate and said, "My _father_ would give you a _million_ for this find, easily. Why me and why so little?"

"Damn, kid – do we have a deal or _not_?" Wolf folded his arms, flashing his fangs, gritting his teeth together. "I'm a busy man and I don't have all day to wait on your answer. All merchandise to be sold _as is_. The buyer has the right to waive all sales taxes, as this is a nonnegotiable exchange of legal tender for physical goods, so long as this transaction is _not_ reported to the Cornerian revenue department – you dig? No one finds out I sold _anything_ to you, understood?"

"Did you even _see_ what's in the cockpit seat, Mister O?"

"Do you want to pay me or what, kid? Yeah, I know what's in the goddamn seat. Deal or what? One minute left to decide." Wolf stuffed his paws into his pockets. His tail swished behind him in annoyance. He waited for a response.

"Will the communicator work underground?" He pulled out his personal phone and attempted a connection to the subspace network. A small logo filled his screen then he pulled up a prompt from a website, ready to transfer from one account to another. "What's the account number?"

Wolf pulled his left paw from his pocket and handed a small square piece of paper to Marcus. "Put it there and I'll do the rest. You won't get it back, though… this account will be closed by tomorrow, so don't think you can cheat me."

"I don't cheat people – you're paranoid after years of doing this line of work." He glanced at the number, keyed in the digits, lifted his eyes back to the paper once more then finished punching the sixteen digits into his phone. "How did you find this?"

"Here's a short story for ya, kid," began O'Donnell. "This guy, a total prick mind ya', lives on Venom. He came across an electronic diary of sorts… it's a walking, talking, annoying …diary. Back in the day, James McCloud had two close buddies. Peppy and Pigma. The hog's old man, Herbert Dengar was the owner of a storage facility; that was his day job to pay the bills. He even stored a few things for Pigma and his buddies. I got the chance to peek at this electronic 'diary' the other day, after it was found on Papetoon. This machine and the other crap was tossed here, into storage, the night before James' attack run against Venom. It was like the guy knew he might not come back and didn't want anyone to find this stuff. Now, I'm going to go and check my account, so give me a minute."

O'Donnell rolled up his right sleeve and punched in a few keys on an electronic gauntlet. After taking a minute to check his account status, he lifted his head to McCloud and offered a slight grin. "Congratulations, kid. If you tell _anyone_ about this transaction, I'll find you, cut your tail off, reach in and rip your spine out. Do you comprehend?"

"Don't want me telling Crimson, huh? I take it you don't want this to get back to his mother… why all the secrecy? Oh, and incidentally, the cockpit is padlocked… is there a key?"

"Nicole would want this stupid box just to have another one up over your father." Wolf flipped his black cloth patch up and said, "Y'know, wearing that bionic implant gives me a headache after a while. Catch…" He fingered a small key out of the empty eye socket then tossed it to Marcus. "This will open the padlock I have over the canopy. Don't try and fly the damn thing, it's not had fuel in it since… hell, since Galaxy Dog was in operation."

"Galaxy…_who_?"

"His _first_ mercenary group," said Wolf. "In his youth, he was in it all for the money. Later, he settled down, got married and joined the military. Personally, I think he joined the Air Guard to get training and make some connections… then went _back_ to the mercenary lifestyle. He started Star Fox with Peppy Hare. It wasn't nearly as popular as Galaxy Dog because James got himself killed on-or-over Venom after only a few missions. A year or two later, your father took 'Star Fox' and turned it into a household name by painting it on the side of a ship, winning a war then flying that damn dreadnaught right over the capital city. That was pretty ballsy considering the law prohibited ships like that within one light-hour from Corneria. Enough with the history lesson, kid. Just don't fly it unless you have it fixed, first."

Wolf pulled his sleeve back down, flipped his eye patch over the hole in his skull then said, "Don't follow me. I left this cart and cable here so you could push the small artifacts up to your ship. I wouldn't try removing that goddamn fighter from the box without help, though. It's not even a true fighter, anymore. It was converted into …ah, whatever, you'll see it when you get it out of the box. Later." He headed towards the south exit. "This shindig never happened. Tell anyone otherwise and I'll tan your hide. As far as everyone else is concerned, you _found_ this thing. I assume you'll tell your girlfriend, though… She's probably the one who fronted you that money, after all. Tell her I said 'thanks for the doah.' Tell Carrot Top I said, 'what's up?' See ya' 'round, pup."

Marcus stood his ground, holding the makeshift torch in silence. In his free paw, a key rest on his palm, leaving him with an awkward feeling – he was holding something that had been inside of Wolf's empty eye socket until now. He shuddered at the thought then stepped back into the crate. With a twist of the key, he removed the chain and padlock. It pooled on the ground and a plume of dust waft up around him.

He opened the canopy, which lifted on hinges until the front brushed against the ceiling of the crate. The eager fox closed his paws around the coveted object stored within, his heart pounded wildly.

* * *

**Wolf O'Donnell stepped into the seedy, empty looking nightclub,** squinting from its vibrant purple lighting. The white streak of headfur between his ears and around his muzzle illuminated brightly from the ultraviolet florescent lamps. He lifted a paw, took the patch from his eye and stuffed it into his pocket then replaced it with a bionic glass eye.

An optical interface loaded straight into his brain, displaying visual data of a system diagnostic. The words, "_Interface link established_" flashed in white lettering then the room displayed to him with indescribable coloration. Immediately, he could see previously invisible patrons all around him. The fantastic collection of chameleons acted disinterested in the lupine and he continued walking towards the back. A digitized yellow aura surrounded one of the reptiles. His bionic eye displayed a zoomed-in circle to the side, with an augmentation of the lizard's face. The words, 'identity match' flashed, lying a textured grid over the facial structure then showing a prior portrait and the name 'Leon Powalski' adjacent to the enhanced visual. Moving all the way to the back, O'Donnell approached the highlighted man with a smirk. In a smaller font, beneath the name, the eye displayed, '_Threat Assessment: _ally' and Leon's physical statistics, including age, height, weight and more.

His fangs glistened in the moody lighting. "What the hell do you hang out in these freaky-ass places for, Powalski?" Wolf slid into a booth and moved towards his long-time friend then placed his paws atop the table. "And what's with the freakin' lights?"

Leon glanced over at O'Donnell then quirked a brow. In a sarcastic, raspy voice, he said, "I hardly recognize you without your shoulder pads, knee spikes, diamond plated claw gloves, studded collar and that massive gold wolf-silhouette belt buckle you always used to wear."

The lupine grinned, pushing a paw back through his nearly Mohawk-like white headfur. "C'mon, Leon… you know I haven't worn a _studded_ collar since before the Aparoid invasion. So what's your freaky fascination with the ultraviolet lighting crap? …And, speaking of Aparoids, what the _hell_ is _that_?" He nodded to the plate in front of Powalski.

Leon smirked and reached for what looked like a salt and pepper shaker. He dusted the bat-sized insect and asked, "This? This is Vitamin and mineral powder, ya' jerk-off." He placed the shakers back on the table and opened his jowl then a large, bulbous ball of muscle lanced from his mouth and struck the over-sized insect. The powerful suction of his tongue tip drew the entire insect from the sampler plate and into his mouth where his jaws crushed the dead being with a sickening crunch. After a moment, his throat fluttered then he turned to Wolf and asked, "Do _I_ ever stare at you when _you_ eat?" He then changed subject, saying, "Chameleons can _see_ the ultraviolet spectrum! You _know_ this, O'Donnell. Also, it makes our females more likely to wanna' mate – I believe it affects our pineal gland or some such."

Wolf looked down at his sweater then lifted his gaze to the chameleon with a smirk. "Look at us, man. We've got _me_ in a sweater and _you_ basking in a sleazy nightclub. What happened to us?" O'Donnell leaned back in the booth seat. "And furthermore, whatever happened to what's-her-name? Cleopatra, right?"

"Calyptratus Jackson," replied Leon with a smirk. "She left after the second clutch. Twenty-four live young on that second go-around. Luckily, she's not asked child-support for a single one. How's Nicole?"

"Right," Wolf said, attempting to repeat the other woman's name. "Caly…cow lip… tray… tus, or whatever the hell it is. Damn, I bet that was hard to get right in the heat of the moment – screw all that noise. Nicky is doing fine – feisty as shit and just as argumentative as ever. It's hard to put my foot down on day-to-day issues when I can still bounce a quarter off her ass. I don't even argue anymore; she'll just bitch-and-moan overtop of whatever I say, so what's the point?"

"As always, Wolf, a colorful and vituperative vocabulary you bring to our conversations." Leon grinned somewhat then said, "I've not spoken to Calyptratus in about a year."

"She was ugly as hell," retorted O'Donnell. "Didn't she have, like, three creepy horns jutting out of her face… how could you even get into that action?"

"Have you _seen_ my _tongue_, Wolf? We're not the kind of reptiles who _make out_, obviously… but _no_, to answer your question – only the male Jacksonii have horns – she always said my lack of horns made me look feminine to her. Besides, her genus and species always _was_ strange to me. Her idea of asserting dominance wasn't done by kicking people's asses – _no_, she liked to be 'mentally dominated'. Whatever the heck _that _meant. She liked to have her _mood_ dominated… I had to change _color_ to get her turned on. _Color_! And posture! It was a challenge and it was intriguing the first time around… It bored me to death the second time around, so I stopped showing interest in her. We can't all have a happy ending with our women, Wolf."

O'Donnell snapped his left thumb and forefinger. "That's right! It was _you_ who put on horns to try and get her riled up. That's funny as hell."

Without warning, Leon drew an impressively decorated dagger and put the blade beneath Wolf's throat. The lupine never flinched but Leon's menacing, massively round eye leered directly into the bionic implant. The side of Leon's face contorted into some measure of anger. "I told you not to bring that up, especially in public. It's embarrassing – I told you that out of confidence so don't even start with me."

"Well then," replied O'Donnell with a grin. He watched Leon's skin color darken from irritation. "You're turning black, pal. What color can you see from _me_? Don't you see auras or some crap like that?"

"I can see you're not afraid, even with my knife against your carotid artery."

Wolf broke into a hearty laughter. "So you're sitting here, eating bugs in this dim lighting, hoping to get laid while relaxing…"

"…Basking!" corrected Powalski.

"Right," snickered the lupine. "_Basking_ in this tiny little dump, wasting away while turning colors… what a crappy existence. If the biggest insult revolves around a little role play concerning facial horns then who am I to give a damn? I came here to tell you I was offered the job of a lifetime."

Leon rolled the knife off the back of his knuckles, skillfully drawing it away with a twirl. "What's the deal?"

"You're going to love this," said Wolf with a grin. "I was offered _thirty million credits_ a piece… to keep the new StarFox team from attacking Bowman's new core base. So, I took all of James McCloud's belongings and _sold them_ to Fox's kid so I could get into the same room as him. He's sitting there, astonished over that stupid _thing_ in the cockpit seat of James' fighter. I dunno' what it was – an Aparoid trophy head from that skirmish two decades before the invasion. Anyhow, I put a tracking device on his vest while he wasn't looking. I also put one on his fighter, the cargo and the Wyvern. Then, to top it all off, I made a half-million credits on that old junk. It's just a bunch of crap with an outdated fighter, packed away in a rotting old box. It's worthless as far as I'm concerned."

"Are you _sure_ that was an Aparoid's head in that canopy? I _know_ insects… they're delicacies… and every time we fought the Aparoids, I got hungry… but I never knew what that thing was in the Wyvern's cockpit. I just know it looked strange."

"Whatever it was, it was junk, too." Wolf yawned, curling his tongue at the end then said, "I made a half million credits off of storage trash. Not bad, huh? But back to the topic at hand, Leon… _thirty million_ to take down the new StarFox team when they go after Bowman's core base."

"Isn't your _son_ on that team? You want to do this just to tan his hide, I take it? Hmm," Leon mused, rubbing beneath his jaw. "At least I'll have another crack at Falco Lombardi. I've eaten an avian before… delicious. And you _know_ I've always wanted to eat that annoying bird. Perhaps I'll still have the chance, after all."

"Crimson is in school – I'll get Panther and we'll round out the team by having Bliss fly on my wing."

Leon rolled his oddly shaped eyes. "Do you even _know_ your own daughter, you imbecile? She will _not_ fly on the same team as Panther Caruso. They frustrate one another because they compete with one another over women. Then, he starts flirting with _her_, she threatens to cut him open, they start scrapping… he's in love with Krystal McCloud – she _hates_ Krystal McCloud and admonishes him for having 'bad taste'. They're oil and water, Wolf. They do not mix – the chemistry is non-existent."

"Let's find out _right now_," replied O'Donnell. He withdrew a communicator and opened a channel to Bliss, putting the conversation into speaker-phone mode. "Hey, squirt. If I said I need to restore StarWolf, and I want you to fly with me against StarFox, can I count on your help?"

Bliss, looking rather frustrated, said, "Panther is an idiot, so if he's involved, I'm not interested. However, if he's not, I accept – moreover, it wouldn't be anything I can do right away… Carey is in trouble and I'm working with someone who is willing to help bail her out."

A quirked brow and tight muzzle displayed Wolf's confusion. "What's wrong with Carey?"

"Apparently, Andrew Oikonny's men abducted her. But all the leads through Oikonny's forces have gone cold. I've lost her scent, so to speak. It's like she vanished shortly after Andrew's men abducted her. I'm growing impatient. I've asked Bowman to look into it, but he claims he knows _nothing_ about her disappearance. My 'friend' and I have a hunch that he might actually be the one behind her abduction, and the bit about Andrew was just a ruse but I can't prove it."

"Well, Bowman is offering each pilot of StarWolf thirty _million_ credits to defend his stupid base while it's under construction. So, if you want some quick cash, let me know – you'll have to fly with Leon and Panther, but it's not permanent. Anyhow, while I'm around Dash, I'll see what I can learn about your hot little girlfriend." He offered his daughter a smirk then said, "And you'd _better_ want to put money before a feud with Caruso. Thirty mil, large, is nothing to sneeze at, Pumpkin." He offered a slight smile of approval and told her, "Good luck getting your girl back. I'll do what I can to help and let you know if I learn anything." Wolf shut the phone and pushed it into his pocket. He cut his gaze to Leon then growled. "Shut up – even _I_ don't like Panther's stupid crap. I can't _expect_ her to wanna' put up with that loser."

"I'm just saying I was right about her," said the lizard with a smile. "Okay, back to the job – you put a tracking device on the target. So, now you know the location of that piece of crap StarFox uses as their base of operations… All right, you've planned this well. I'm in." Powalski lowered his eyes back to the sampler platter. "I'd better get a box so I can eat this later on." He slid from the booth then sheathed his knife. The reptile got a box and dumped the plate into the container then motioned with his hand. "Lead the way, O'Donnell."

* * *

**Spray paint tags littered the front door and windows.** Violet Lombardi pushed a metal key into a brass knob then turned the handle. She brushed her gloved paw against her pants, stepped into the desecrated home and shut the door behind herself. Her eyes fell upon three sickly looking types who were lounging in the living room. She drew a blaster and shot a warning round into the chimney. Smoke rolled off the scorched bricks. Her eyes narrowed. "Get out of my mother's house. I won't ask again and I won't hesitate to kill all three of you for trespassing."

The hobos made their way to the door and left with little trouble. She searched each room for anyone else then holstered the weapon on her hip. Violet opened a communicator and dialed the frequency for her mother. Katt's distorted visual filled the small screen.

"Violet, I can _hardly _see you. Is everything okay?"

"The fallout is really thin – there's dust on the front of the house… maybe a mixture of pollen and fallout from the wind… but the worst damage is from people tagging the neighborhood. There's a lot of spray paint on all the houses in the area. A stripped-down tow truck is on blocks in front of the driveway. The capital skyline we saw from our street… well, that view is gone. It's an empty skeleton – a few buildings in the distance… but you can tell the city was obliterated from the hill."

"All right. Listen, they said you increase your chance of getting radiation sickness if you stay there for more than three to four hours at a time. Just check for all the heirlooms, jewelry and _important_ things then leave. Don't stay any longer than you must, okay?" Katt's visual flickered from poor reception.

"What's the safe combination?"

Katt offered a flat stare. "Nice way to ignore my question, Violet. The combination is your father's birthday, followed by our wedding anniversary. That's sixteen digits long, so take your time and punch each number nice and slow. Also…"

"Mom!" Violet lifted the phone, which caused the fuzzy flickering to reside somewhat. "You're ranting. Look, there were some homeless thugs staying here. This place needs to be condemned. I'm not sure it's structurally sound anymore. It's like a battlefield from one of those neo-future movies that were so damn popular twenty years ago. Okay, dad's birthday then your anniversary date."

"Where's Asper?"

She groaned in frustration. "Relax, Mom. I told him to meet me here when he gets off shift. He should be here in about half an hour or so. Stop worrying – I can take care of myself better than most _guys_."

Katt sighed. "I worry because you're an extremely attractive woman out there alone with a bunch of desolate street thugs who are barely living day to day. They've lost their families and friends – now they have nothing. They're without a sense of compunction because they've already gone through so much… they've probably not seen a pretty girl since the damn bomb leveled the capital… and none of them would think twice about hurting you."

"I'm armed," said Violet, adding, "I'll call you later, when I have better reception. The wind must be blowing from the direction of the capital because I can barely understand a word you're saying. Too much interference in the air. Look, I'll call you when I'm leaving the area. I'll need about two to three hours."

"Don't forget to report in to the detox facility before heading back."

"Okay!" Violet shouted. "I'll take care of it, geeze!" She flipped the phone shut and pushed it into her pocket then looked around the area. "Okay… safe, _safe_." She headed for the study and removed several dictionaries on a bookshelf. Behind it, a gray wall safe became visible. She reached through the gap of books and punched in the long code then tugged on the handle. The safe opened with ease. Violet noted there was two gashes on the metal door where someone had tried to open it with a crowbar. She found it strange that the books were placed back on the shelf as if to cover up the attempt of breaking it open.

The sound of crunching glass caused her to glance over her shoulder. A dingy man stood in the doorway to the study. She could see a protuberance in his right pocket. The protrusion held an 'L' shape, identifying the object as a weapon. She casually began taking out paperwork and safeguarded possessions belonging to her parents. "Is that distension in your pants a blaster? Or are you just happy to see a clean female for the first time in a while?"

"I knew someone would come back here and open that wall safe," said the man. She expected a raspy voice but his tonal quality was anything but. His deep, aloof baritone wording didn't match his soiled clothes or unruly fur. The bulldog folded his arms and leaned against the door frame. "And it's been a while since I've had anything of value. Do you _know_ what the price of imported food goes for here? Clean water? A good, fully functional blaster, even? Most anything electronic was ruined by an electromagnetic pulse and we're still quarantined from the rest of the planet."

Violet continued to stuff her pockets with her mother and father's belongings. "This isn't your house so get the hell out before I kill you in it."

"That kind of talk isn't very lady-like, little miss hybrid bird." He pushed a gnarled paw into his right pocket, remaining calm and relaxed.

"Gee, I'm sorry," she replied with a smirk. "I _meant _to say, 'Excuse me dear sir, you're trespassing and I respectfully request that you remove yourself from the premises." Her eyes flitted down to his right pocket then lifted again. "So help me, if you pull out that blaster, I'll rip you into two pieces. Do yourself a favor and _leave_."

"I bet you're a daddy's girl… did your daddy teach you to speak like that?" The man kept his dingy paw in his right pocket with the prominent 'L' shaped object.

"My father is Falco Lombardi, a goddamn war hero. I've come to get his civilian awards, medals and my mother's folder of important papers. Just take a hike, will you? I don't want any trouble and neither do you."

"Oh, I think you've _found_ trouble, Miss Lombardi. I bet there _is_ some pretty nice stuff in that safe besides just papers and some stupid award crap."

Violet narrowed her eyes, watching him begin to withdraw just the handle of his blaster from the right-side pocket. She licked her lips and said, "You _really_ don't want to do that. Take my advice and just leave. You're trespassing. See, my parents own this house and pay land tax on the lot, so take a hike."

The bulldog withdrew his blaster and pointed it in her face. "What're you going to do about it?"

Violet narrowed her gaze. "I'm going to toss this bag on the ground and kick my left food out." She nodded to a stand nearby, which held a vase. Inside, dead flowers lined the ridge and hung around its siding. "The vase will bounce off the wall then roll across the carpet. The stand will hit you in the torso and you'll double over. Then, I'm going to bring my knee up into your face and break your jaw. After that, I'll punch you in the gut, bring my elbow down on the back of your neck then my next uppercut will lay you out on your back. You'll have a broken nose, several missing teeth and multiple fractures in your jaw."

"You're forgetting the part where I pull the trigger, kill you and then take everything in that safe. I'll buy my way out of quarantine status, get a good medical facility to heal me and no one will be any-the-wiser. Why? Because no one will find your dead body in this house. It'll be two or three years before your carcass is found, sweetie."

"Here," said Violet, "Hold this – it's worth enough money to get you a six month hospital stay for free." She swiped the vase from its stand and tossed it to him. His eyes widened from her words. He inadvertently dropped his weapon and reached his paws in the air attempting to catch the porcelain flower pot. He was unprepared for Violet's next move… she dropped her knapsack, lifted the stand and swung it like a baseball bat.

The cheap vase hit the carpet and cracked into two pieces. "I lied," she told him with a smirk. "It's a bargain store deal-of-the-week. Mom liked it because the paintjob comprised of all her favorite colors." She replaced the thin metal stand on the floor and retrieved her satchel, stuffing it again. "Just go home, and do your best to make good on the hand you've been given. Stealing and infighting doesn't help you." She withdrew more stuff from the safe then pushed it into her bag.

The bulldog looked up, one paw over the side of his face and growled. His eyes dropped to the floor then landed on his gun… beneath her foot. His head lifted again then he blinked, staring down the barrel of her blaster.

"Don't even think about it." She offered a smile then retracted her blaster, pushing it into a holster. "You see how fast I drew my gun? Think about that for a moment, that way you won't make any stupid mistakes between now and when I leave."

He moved to his right knee then rose to his feet. "You've got moxy, I'll give you that much, but you're still not too bright for coming here alone. You _always_ need someone to watch your back if you ever expect to live a long life."

Violet looked up from her knapsack again then blinked. This time _she _was the one staring down the barrel of a blaster. He attempted to grin at her but with the side of his muzzle injured from her prior attack, his expression resembled a slight smirk. "I had more than one gun. I guess you didn't see _that_ coming."

"I guess I didn't." She narrowed her gaze at him then asked, "So what do you want? Money? Or just to get out of here and take care of your health?"

"All of that sounds really nice," said the weary looking canine. His sunken eyes and withered face were beyond the pudgy wrinkled lines of a normal looking bulldog. "But a little fun with a nice, clean female… That's been on my mind for _months_." He approached her, one step at a time. "But there's not a lot to do, lady. No movie theaters. No diners. There isn't even a florist in this area anymore. So, let's skip the chitchat and get right down to _my_ needs. I bet you didn't see _that_ coming, either."

"No, I pretty much saw _that_ coming." Violet's eyes flitted over the man's form and she licked her lips in apprehension. Something in the doorway caught her eye but it was too quick for her to see. Part of her mind quickly added inner fears and dark possibilities, hoping that this man didn't have any 'buddies' around.

Quite suddenly, however, a scaly arm slid beneath the man's right arm, forcing it up in the air. A gloved hand came across the bulldog's chest and clutched at his neck, pinning the canine's paw vertically. The blaster discharged, putting a glowing burn mark in the ceiling. Asper Sarnoff brought a military-grade knife to the man's left hip then trailed the blade up, over his kidney. Asper leaned over the man's left shoulder and whispered, "I bet you didn't see _me_ coming, now did you? That young lady is a family girl. Good morals, too. She's someone's daughter. She's also someone's mother – a very good parent, mind you. Now, would you want some dingy freak like yourself hurting _your_ daughter? What about your _mother_?"

The canine struggled but, in such a debilitating position, he was unable to react. "Get off of me! What the hell – _who_ the hell are you?"

"Stop squirming," said Sarnoff. He pushed the tip of his knife against the man's waist in a threatening manner. "If this blade pierces your kidney, you'll undoubtedly die. So, don't move." To Asper's words, the man became still.

"Drop your gun."

The bulldog complied. His blaster hit the carpet with a muffled thump.

"You know, if I had come in here and found you on her… I wouldn't have spared your life just now. Be glad I came in at just the right time. Are you going to give us any more trouble?"

The bulldog shook his head rapidly. He squirmed in Asper's arm-lock grip but remained otherwise subdued. "Look, man, I was a good guy before all of this happened. This bomb thing… it changed our _lives_. You don't even understand. I can't leave this quadrant. When I came out of the bank vault at my old job, the building was in ruins. I stayed… and nearly starved in that damn vault just to keep from getting sick… and now what little survivors are left… we're literally losing our sanity, okay? I'm not trying to die… I'm just…"

"Shut up," whispered Asper. "You were in the wrong place at the wrong time and you're making the best of a bad situation. See? I identify with your situation. I even understand what you're going through… and _that_ is why I didn't kill you just now. I can't help you – _she_ can't help you. So do yourself a favor and walk away with your life intact. The quarantine is scheduled to end five weeks from now. You'll be allowed to leave but will need to make arrangements and appointments to return for your belongings. That's the rules… Violet, here, had to make an appointment and set up special arrangements."

The bulldog's erratic breathing began to calm. "But she can leave whenever she wants and I can't."

The hybrid feline, half-remorseful for the man's situation, approached him. "You will next month. I'm sorry we can't smuggle you food. If you worked at a bank and had access to the vault… and used it as your safe bunker, why are you in such desperate need of money for trade?"

"You two know nothing about vaults," said the canine. "This is the Cornerian capital. There is a very _large_ excess of money in that vault. I can get into it and use it to protect me from the radiation until it thins out… But I can't access every section – that's controlled by a computer. Cameras and computers regulate which section of the vault is accessible to the employee at the time of their entrance. I've already used all the money I had access to, as well as all the money found at the various teller's desks. I used it to survive and smuggle money and weapons. There are only three or four hundred people left in this city. The rest of us died from sickness, starvation or by taking one another's life."

"I suggest you leave," replied Asper. "Neither Corneria nor your fellow citizens did this to you. Venom is the one who dropped that bomb. Now listen closely to what I'm about to tell you: I have a very high power submachine gun. This is no ordinary personal defense weapon… If I tap the trigger, it will chew through you and you'll be dead before I depress my finger. Are we clear? I want you to pick up your blaster, unload it and put the weapon in one pocket and your power cell in the other. Then, I want you to leave through the front door and walk back to your bank. Do it right _now_." Asper withdrew his arm from the man, releasing him from the powerful hold.

The bulldog quickly fell forward and looked up at Violet's knee. He reached for his weapon, removed the ammunition clip from the handle and put each into a different pocket. He stood up, looked at Violet in a longing fashion then back at Asper with a frown. Without a further word, he walked out of the room. The hybrid lizard followed him out to the front walk. Meanwhile, the youthful Lombardi continued stuffing her knapsack with her parent's valuables again.

* * *

**A green flashing light bathed the hanger with a strobe-like effect**. A small transport ship moved to the center of the bay on the GreatFox Flying Fortress. It lowered to the deck and a door dropped from the back. An old man, feline with a cane, hobbled down the ramp and made his way across the deck. The nearly-gray spotted, faded yellow feline resembled what used to be a tall, athletic cheetah. He paused to admire a row of Arwings, lining the carrier section's hanger. The elderly man, sixty-seven years old, leaned the cane against his shuttle, knowing he'd need it to get back up the ramp, later.

He turned to Falco Lombardi and Marcus McCloud, tipped a weathered fedora then approached the youthful fox and grinned. "My, my. Look at you – a spitting image of your father, save for the coloration difference in your fur. You even stand the same way he did." He offered a paw to both pilots and said, "Funny how fate works… I knew your father through General Pepper and now here I am helping you."

"You were military?" asked Marcus, trying not to scan the man's mind. "How did you know my father?"

"Fox McCloud, right?" asked the cheetah. "I was thirty years old, a first lieutenant in communications, when John Pepper called your father," he paused then nodded towards Falco, "and him, to come out and fly the new Arwing prototype fighter."

Lombardi approached the older man and tilted his head. "Holy smokes, man… you're Lieutenant Chester. Wow, I thought military types always age well…?"

"Only if they stay in shape," said Chester with a wan smile. "Actually, staying in shape has kept me alive. I had a few rough years shortly after retiring at Lieutenant Colonel. I was diagnosed with cancer. It was a struggle and took two full years of fighting before I went into remission. I've always kind of looked and felt _old_ after that ordeal. But…" He reached a paw up and removed the brimmed hat. His fur was so thin upon his head that it was nearly bald. "I took the name 'cue ball' at the poker table after that. Now, you guys called on me because of my article in the Modern Mechanics issue from last month?"

"One of my pilots has a subscription," said Marcus, adding, "I found something belonging to my grandfather and when I showed it to my team, he hunted down that issue because he knew you'd be the one to make heads or tails of it."

"What've you found?" asked Chester. He placed the fedora back upon his brow then reached for the back of the brim and tugged it down. His ears emerged from two holes cut in the side of the hat.

"Hell, we don't even know," Falco chimed in. "At first, I thought it might be like, some sort of… Aparoid head. Like a trophy or something. And, to me, it made sense because James and Peppy were around when the very first Aparoid attacked, almost two decades before the invasion."

Marcus continued where Lombardi left off. "But we did some research on my grandfather and learned he wasn't actually present during that attack. Peppy Hare _was_, but not James McCloud – so, unless Peppy gifted it to James… that was pretty much impossible."

Chester shook his head slowly. "Not many knew this but… a communication officer learns a _lot_ from listening to radio chatter. I knew a lot – that's how I got into the intelligence field. Peppy Hare never _killed_ that Aparoid. It's believed that the Aparoid escaped but it was so damaged that it couldn't jump to its home world. It had to take the long way… and its journey home took almost seventeen years. Then, when it arrived, it plugged into the hive mind of its race and relayed the coordinates to Lylat. They came through a jump gate portal and arrived on scene the very next day. That very Aparoid, repaired overnight by its own kind, was at the forefront of the line." He turned to face Marcus directly and, in a very personal tone, said, "Your father, with the help of Peppy Hare, finished that contraption once and for all. Later on, scientists researched its remains only to learn that its databanks had _two_ references to Lylat stored in its memory."

Marcus grinned with delight. "Your article was right – you're very knowledgeable about things of this nature. All right, so you've already ruled out one thing that our object is _not_. You've come all this way – would you like to see it now or did you want to get something to eat first?"

"Let's jump right into business," said Chester. "I'm proud of my eclectic old-technology know-how. Lead the way!" His voice crackled slightly but he offered a strong, proud grin nevertheless. "Is McCloud's ship here on your dreadnaught carrier?"

"Yeah, Grandpa's ship is here." Marcus led him across the bay to a tarp-covered fighter. It rested lower than the typical Arwing and had a shorter nose than the average M-Class fighter. The tod took the tarp hem with both paws and yanked it away. "I never pulled the device, from the cockpit seat. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it and I'm not sure how he got a hold of such a thing but I wanted a second opinion."

Chester, with the aid of Falco Lombardi – eleven years his junior – eased the cockpit lid up and climbed up the side of a large stepstool. He glanced back at Marcus then leaned in close and analyzed the object. "I see the small branding plate, here, says it belonged to Andross. Of course, that means James McCloud _stole_ it from Andross somehow. But this technology is _not_ something made by Andross. What was _your_ opinion on this, Marcus?"

"A gravity bomb maybe?" Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe a Krazoa object that Andross obtained early on or a part for his telekinetic amp? I tried to suggest that I already knew what it was to my seller to see if I could gain information from him… but I don't think he knew what it was, either."

Chester ran his fingers over an inscription along the side. "You couldn't read the lettering?"

"No, sir."

"I'm willing to wager your mother can." The feline's words caused Marcus and Falco to widen their gaze. Chester continued with his explanation. "You see, this object may very well prove that Andross managed to come into contact with Cerinia even before the full onslaught of the Lylat War. Perhaps that is why he fled there for a short time – but from the study and research I've done on technology belonging to known systems Lylat has contacted… I'm fairly certain this device is of Cerinian descent."

The two pilots remained silent. Chester opened a side door on the unit and tinkered with the interior components. "It's some sort of data pod. Perhaps Andross managed to requisition technological help from Cerinia after convincing them that _he_ was under attack from _Lylat_. At least, that is one possibility."

Falco rubbed the bottom of his beak. "That would make for one hell of an irony… The people who inadvertently helped Andross turn a population of technologically un-savvy lizards into an army… and helped Andross fight Corneria – how weird would it be if their last surviving member married the guy who defeated Andross? Nah, way too farfetched, man."

"Is it?" Marcus asked with a frown. "Didn't you once tell me that mom actually had the audacity to defend Andross' actions to my father?" (SF:Command _Krystal speaking to Fox in regards to the device that would restore Venom's sea_) He stuffed his paws into his pockets. "I need to bring her here right away. Maybe there's something she isn't telling us. Perhaps she somehow knew Andross when she lived on Cerinia and he betrayed them or something. I don't know. It's all gray area right now." He turned back to Chester and said, "If you're right about it being Cerinia writing then she _is_ the only one we can call to be sure. I'll hail her right away. Can you stick around?"

The cheetah grinned. "We're talking about the discovery of non-existent archaic technology. This is my field since retirement – I wouldn't miss it for the world, young man. Besides, I'd love to see your father again and find out how he's been over the last few decades."

"Good to hear, old timer," said Falco with a chuckle.

"I might be elderly, but I still love a good adventure," replied the man. He descended from the metal stepladder then ran his fingers along the Little Wyvern with a slight smile. "This was a fantastic G-zero machine."

"Yeah, about that," said Lombardi with his head cocked. "When did James McCloud ever race?"

"Before Fox McCloud was born – before he met Vixy Reinard. He raced for a few seasons then hung it up to become a fighter pilot. Common misconception paints it happening the other way around… but that's what happens to history. The facts sometimes get distorted." He turned away from Falco and faced Marcus. The youthful fox stood in front of a communication's screen against the nearby wall.

After a moment, Marcus offered them a 'thumbs up' gesture. "Mom and dad will meet us in Sector-Y. I've given ROB the order – we're heading there now."

* * *

A/N: _My reviews mentioned wanting to see Leon, Violet and Lieutenant Chester (C8 RoFM)… Okay, so yeah… I think I've covered that pretty well in this chapter. Also, I made a __**promise**__ to someone's review of Reflections of the Future… __**They asked me to write the next chapter of Reflections of Fox McCloud so they can see what happens. I'm going to go and churn that out real fast**__. Then I'll be back with chapter 7, dig? I've got a very busy work schedule this week but I'll be as quick as I can. I'm working every single day until further notice. My District Manager came in and basically fired all but two managers… me and this other dude, who is running the store without receiving an actual promotion – he's stuck with this 'responsibility' until further notice. So, yeah, life is going to suck for a week or two… or three. Whatever. I like overtime paychecks, so whatever! Because this is MY United States of WHATEVER! Damn I hate retail management. It sucks nads for sure. Planograms, irate customers, fixing the store night after night, BS employees who are acting out because they're already underpaid as it is… Then all the corporate quotas… Talk about lame. I can't wait to find something that kicks ass. …But I do like making Overtime wages. When you're as broke as I am, nineteen dollars an hour multiplied by twenty hours in a week… that suddenly sounds REALLY nice on top of my base pay. And yet, I have friends who make three times that amount and do less physical work and less standing on their feet to get it. MUST BE NICE! But let me tell you, without that overtime added in, NO ONE can live, let alone raise kids… on my wages. I mean, we're talking just shy of thirteen an hour. It SOUNDS good, but then you pay a few hundred bucks on insurance for yourself and the kids… then you've got taxes. Suddenly, you're hardly hitting eleven hundred bucks per month, cash-in-hand. That's barely enough to pay rent – what about the phone? Cable? Medications? Car payment? Insurance? Food? GAS? All in all, I'm getting a crap-load of responsibility and sleazy low-life district managers who play these Mickey Mouse bullcrap headgames… and I think to myself: This low pay isn't worth the headache associated with the job._

_Just the same, I like overtime pay so …I might as well snatch it up while it's available. _

_It'll feel nice to get those personal loans paid off, that's for sure. I wish I had a million dollars. …After taxes. xD_

_Thanks for listening to me vent! Retail SUCKS! _

_OH! And if you REALLY want to hear some DRAMA… google this: "Cpl Richard Findley Maryland". This took place less than a quarter mile behind the parking lot where I work, while I was pulling in around noon-thirty to start my shift. Tragic. --_

_Getting transferred to the Laurel store has been a large headache and a huge drain on my gas tank. It's 53 miles round trip… just to dodge bullets and BS from the denizens of the area. Don't worry, though… I'm not going to stay with that company forever. Plus, my piano player and I plan to get another house together. We were roommates back when I wrote Reflections of Krystal, Reflections of the Future and started on Reflections of a New Generation (as well as when I started on Lament of Carmelita). All right, that's enough complaining from me! P-sout! _

_-K_


	7. Fortuity!

* * *

A/N: _So… A few people were fairly blunt when they said they wanted to see something unexpected happen. At the very least, they wanted excitement or some change of pace. So, I decided to go non-linear. I have no idea how this will tie into the storyline. I don't even know what the story line is just yet. xD  
Also, I want to thank everyone who has stuck with this series (and this story), so far!_

Coincidence: (Noun)

**1. **The state or fact of occupying the same relative position or area in space.

**2. **A sequence of events that although accidental seems to have been planned or arranged.

**3.** A chance occurrence of simultaneous or apparently connected events

* * *

**Chapter -7-  
**"Fortuity"

**Fox McCloud placed his right paw upon a faded yellow decal** on the side of the Little Wyvern. The 'ten' was chipped at the corners and had scrapes through both digits. He turned to his son for a moment, looked back at the fighter and tilted his head. "…Then he converted it _back_ to a fighter, from a racer? Why didn't Peppy ever talk about this sort of stuff?"

"Not sure," said Chester, approaching both McClouds from the left. "Some people argue that James is, inadvertently, the grandfather of G-Diffusing technology. Beltino was his personal engineer, built most of the technology used in the conversion when it became a racing machine… In the end, Beltino also reconstructed it to fly and fight… It used a new gadget that simulated negative gravity-force, in order to counter-out actual gravity. The technology was heavy modified, rebuilt multiple times and, eventually, it evolved into a unit that diffuses the force of gravity. Initially, they did this to try and create an anti-resistance bubble to reduce wind drag and other natural forces so they could increase speed. The side effect, however, was something James liked… greatly reduced g-forces when in the cockpit."

Slippy Toad rubbed the bottom of his chin. "I need to have a talk with dad before he t-t-takes all these secrets to the grave with him. Why did their racing c-career disappear? It's not even mentioned in the archived tabloids…"

"The hall of records," began Chester. "It burned to the ground during the first battle – Andross attacked Corneria, leaving Peppy, James and Pigma as the _only_ surviving team left in the air. They were assigned to parameter defense and… yeah, there were a few pilots who lived, but Star Fox was the ONLY unscathed squadron. People associated that victory with a good leader and good wingmen. They also tied for the highest kill-score of any squadron to fly that day but, like I said earlier, they were also the only surviving team. The hall of records used to have the internet archive, original books and newspaper archives… now everything is split up, backed up and carefully mirrored on thousands of drives. For every terabyte of information on the planetary web, there is five terabytes of backup data on various drives throughout the globe. Data is safe these days."

"Was he famous? Did he win anything?" asked Marcus.

Chester nodded. "He wasn't the galactic champion but he had several very impressive wins. He also didn't stay in the circuit – he was doing this for extra money on the side. He disbanded his first mercenary team, Galaxy Dog, raced for a while, and then joined the military. After his contract ended he started Star Fox. Peppy was the first pilot to officially fly as a mercenary for Star Fox, and Pigma was dishonorably discharged from the military. At the time, the government was excessively strict on everything from gambling to conflict of interest. With Dengar taking side jobs under the table, gambling and his piss-poor attitude, the current _three-star_ General, a lion named Geoffrey Lionel, signed the order to discharge multiple trouble causing soldiers. Dengar was caught in a raid on an underground gambling facility… the charges piled up. Days later, he was officially flying for Star Fox."

Fox snapped his fingers. "Lionel! That's the guy Krystal rescued from StarWolf!"

The vixen placed a paw on her husband's back and said, "I didn't retrieve him from StarWolf. Actually, StarWolf semi-rescued him – it's a very long story." (Reflections of Krystal: Final three chapters) She cleared her throat, bringing everyone's eyes to her. "I didn't even _try_ to rescue him, quite honestly. I found out that he was alive and in their care – I left him with them and they returned him to Corneria in exchange for a clean record of several past crimes. All their warrants were pardoned."

Marcus' eyes wondered over his parents, Falco, back towards Theodore then he redirected his gaze at the ship next to Chester. Finally, he glanced at his watch. His mother's voice filled his mind, inquiring as to while he was pensive. He shrugged then thought a reply to her. '_No reason, really. Lucy and Vivian are up on the bridge trying to contact Beltino – I have a feeling the old man will have answers for us. He's not answered… I swear, if he passed away the day we need him… that would be far too cliché. I would be seriously annoyed.'_ He sniffed and stuffed his paws into his pockets.

Chester, along with Fox's help, pulled the strange cylinder from the cockpit and set it on the floor. The aging cheetah turned to everyone assembled and nudged the logo plate with his shoe. "Here, we have the trademark logo from Andross' Imperial regime – this one was the first design he ever put into use. I'm not sure what the rest of this scrawl says on the sides but it's familiar and I was hoping Mrs. McCloud would know something about it. One thing I _do_ know… it's not from Lylat."

Krystal knelt beside it and ran her fingers over the glyphs above the metal branding plate. "They're familiar – like I've seen them in a dream before. I'm not sure who Andross would have had contact with in the past but these letters are very similar to Cerinian writing. I admit, seeing it makes me a little nervous. I'm not sure why. How do you suppose that James came across this?"

"Not sure," said the cheetah with a slight frown. "But judging from the look on your face, I would think that you recognize this to some degree."

Krystal brought a paw to her muzzle, rubbing beneath her jaw line. She approached the cylinder and gestured for everyone to move back. She knelt down besides the object, took a deep breath and placed her paws upon its surface. Her eyes shut and her breathing became rhythmic, as if in a trance. Minutes passed but she remained silent.

Falco shook his head with a sigh. "Who cares what it is? It's a stupid …_battery_ that Andross stole from someone – big deal. We need to get this team into Venom orbit and kick Dash's ass back to the Stone Age. We can't just sit around and wait for him to make another big bomb. Corneria doesn't need to go through that crap again."

Theodore nodded in reply. "No arguments here!"

"Mom!" Everyone turned to face Marcus then immediately glanced over at Krystal. She lay on the floor adjacent to the device, unresponsive. Fox sank to his knees and pulled his wife's head onto his lap. Marcus McCloud knelt alongside his parents and put his palms on her face. "She's out cold… Let me see if I can somehow make contact with her." He closed his eyes and leaned down somewhat. After a brief pause, he looked up and asked, "Where is Planet Kew?"

"Why?" asked Theodore.

"Apparently that's where this device originated and it's the last thing to go through her conscious mind – I remember Kursed telling me that she met with the alternative version of dad on that very world. She followed him back to Lylat after doing _something _dangerous there. From what I understand, Kursed experienced what she refers to as, 'The Metamorphosis' on Kew. The last thought to cross Kursed's mind before she …expired… was that her people were once hunted by the population of Kew. She was dying in my arms, so it was difficult to understand her. From what I could sense, her life was flashing before her eyes. Anyhow, either the planet's population… or the hunters that intercepted her _on _Kew, finally stopped hunting after Cerinia was destroyed, assuming that my race was gone. There was some sort of war between the races; again, I'm not sure if these hunters represented the population of Kew as a whole, or if that planet had some other purpose… staging area, _something_."

Falco cocked a brow. "So how in the crap did Andross get an object belonging to the Kew if they were some sort of racial hunters? How does all this junk tie together?" He saw Marcus' mouth open, as if about to correct him. Lombardi lifted a winged hand and said, "Or whatever the deal is – how does this stupid stuff relate?"

"Good question," said Chester, rubbing his chin. "So what about the doppelganger of Krystal McCloud? Would she know what this device is? After all, you did just say she visited that location once."

"It's possible," said Fox. He frowned and said, "What if it's some sort of weapon they use against telepathic types? I mean, she was fine until she touched that thing."

Marcus folded his arms. "Maybe it somehow _detects_ telepaths… No that doesn't make sense; Andross went to Cerinia but not before this was stolen by my grandfather – It's possible that it's some sort of weapon used _against_ the frontal lobe. What if…" he paused and cut his gaze to his mother, who groaned. The room went quiet, watching her stir.

"She's waking up," murmured Fox, mostly to himself.

Young Marcus blinked rapidly and moved closer to his mother. "Your mind is _blank_ – mom, are you okay?"

Krystal lifted her left paw to her head, pressing her palm against her temple. "Star, I don't remember _anything_." She glanced up at the group of people around her and quirked a brow. "I…"

Falco put his winged fists on his hips. "Amnesia? Are you _kidding_?"

She lifted her right paw towards Falco and said, "No – wait. I _know_ you… Falco," she turned to her husband and said, "Fox… and Star… wait, no… _Marcus_." She blinked a few times and groaned again. "I've a headache the size of Meredith."

Everyone looked at her in confusion. Marcus lifted his head, frowned at the assembly and, in a befuddled voice, said, "Meredith is the name of the moon over Cerinia. I've probed her mind – she doesn't remember _anything_. She knows dad and she knows _me_; she knows StarFox members, but she doesn't remember any details… about _anything_. It's all gone." He continued to probe his mother's mind but the confused vixen had no memories to offer. "She knows who her family is – even little James. But it's as though she never lived her life – everything is gone. Everything except her youngest memories of Cerinia."

"What; wait – is _that_ what the stupid thing does?" asked Falco. "It wipes out people's memories?"

Chester folded his arms. "Perhaps it only works on telepaths?"

Marcus turned to the device and placed his paws on it. Fox gasped and tried to reach over his wife's head for his son but it was too late... After a moment, Marcus looked up and shook his head. "No. It didn't do anything to me." His eyes looked weary and his ears dropped. "Although… I'm exhausted from trying to do a physical scan on that thing; it's transferred hands a lot …Us, Wolf, James McCloud, Andross… that mysterious race from Kew… But I couldn't see a great deal of details. It's just too vague from this thing having been touched by so many people. I'm not convinced this object is entirely at fault for what just happened to mom."

Fox lowered his head to his wife and asked, "You don't remember _anything?_"

She looked up at her mate with a soft frown. "Well, I remember that I _love you_, Fox. But no, nothing else… I don't recognize anything. …My last _actual_ memory is… the Oracle presented me a staff for my sixteenth birthday." She rubbed her eyes then looked down at her palms. Her eyes widened. "How old am I?"

"Forty-eight," replied Marcus.

Her breath caught. "Forty-eight!" she gawked, horrified.

Theodore approached the group. "Well, forty-eight in Cornerian rotations. So, I'm curious here… You don't remember anything… but you _do _remember names and faces?"

Krystal nodded then, abruptly, shook her head. "Not yours, I'm afraid." She glanced over at Chester and up-nodded to him. "I don't remember yours, either." She cut her soft green eyes back to her son and said, "I remember your …girlfriend was it? Fara Phoenix – I could draw a sketch of her but I don't know anything about her."

Marcus placed his paw on hers. "You shared your mind with hers – you know more about her than anyone else. All you remember is her name and her face?"

Krystal's eyes lowered. "I don't remember much of anything. I recall that she loves you and that I respect her. I remember the parents raising James – I remember…" she paused then looked up at her husband. "I remember …Kew." She canted her head towards the metal cylinder. "I touched that canister and saw Andross stealing their technology. He was trying to set up some sort of diplomatic relationship with Cerinia after learning of Kew's advanced tech-savvy methods in blocking our telepathic abilities. My parents didn't trust him because they couldn't read him but assumed it was because Cerinia may not have the ability to read all alien types." She blinked twice. "That happened around the time I met with the Oracle. I just can't place whether or not it came before or after that day. Some of the details I remember are blurry."

Marcus touched her wrist. "Cerinia is gone, mom. The central star abruptly went supernova. It's quite possible that you may be the only survivor." The hanger became silent. Everyone held their breath.

Krystal's emerald eyes glistened with moisture. Her heart radiated with intense sadness, inadvertently pushing the heavy burden of depression onto everyone in the room. Her tangible sadness felt like a heavy wool blanket draped on everyone's shoulders. "You… I…" She took a deep breath, fighting back tears.

Falco, of all people, gestured with his hands to have Chester and Theodore move back. He glanced over his shoulder at Krystal, kneeling, in a three-way hug with her son and husband. A frown marred his beak then he gestured with his wings, shooing Theodore and Chester away. "C'mon guys, let's go run those markings through ROB – have him scan some sort of database or something. I don't like being unproductive; standing around is boring." Deep down, he just wanted the McClouds to have a moment of privacy. "Out! Guys, let's go…" Theodore and Chester left the hanger with Lombardi.

Out in the hallway, the trio's mood lightened as they grew further from the telepathic vixen. Ted asked, "Why do you think that thing affected her but did nothing to Marcus?"

Lombardi shrugged. "Maybe Star is different. …_Marcus_ rather. Or maybe because he's a half-blood or something. I'm not really sure, but he said he didn't see very much when he touched the thing. Maybe, because he doesn't have the same abilities, he couldn't do a …thorough scan or whatever."

Chester placed a pensive finger beneath his bottom lip. "If such is the case then his lack of telepathic prowess inadvertently saved him."

"Let's not jump to conclusions," said Toad, pulling his hat from his head. He fidgeted with the brim, placed it beneath his arm and sighed. "Did anyone else suddenly feel about an inch tall when Krystal found out about her planet?"

"Beyond sullen," said Chester. "I could feel a prevailing sense of depression in my chest. She doesn't even know her own power."

Falco cocked a brow as the three continued up the hallway. "You're saying that came from her?"

"I think he's right, Falco." Teddy placed his hat back on his head. "The further away we get from the hanger, the better I feel."

"All right, let's just get up to the bridge and do a physical scan on that _thing_." Falco made a sweeping motion with his arm, gesturing to the other two. "Let's hurry it up, guys. We don't have time to sit around and mope – my gut says things are about to heat up. I'm ready to kick some asses and I wanna be ready when it's time."

* * *

**Bliss O'Donnell's eyes narrowed**. "What the hell is your problem _now_?" She approached the sickly-looking blue-furred vixen and nudged her nose beneath the woman's right arm from behind. Kursed's arm slipped about Bliss' neck then stood with the hybrid's help. O'Donnell hooked her left paw around the shapely woman's hip and gripped at a belt loop to keep the woman up. "What gives? You were fine just a minute ago."

"I'm not sure," muttered Kursed in a surprisingly weak tone of voice. "…Perhaps it's some sort of side effect?" She sensed confusion radiating from the daughter of Wolf and told the girl, "I'm a reconstructed version of the original Kursed – my first few months awake were very difficult because I required the help of a machine to build things such as muscle mass, create patch repairs on genetic strands that were not yet stable… I would age ten years in a few hours, develop symptoms that would threaten my life… The machine made quick repairs over the course of several seasons until I was, for lack of a better term, _completed_. Perhaps I'm having a relapse of some sort."

"How can we find out for sure?"

Kursed lowered her head, slumped as if inebriate. "We can do a bio scan at the lab." She used her cheek to nudge Bliss' head right until young O'Donnell had the side of her face pressed against a computerized wristband on Kursed's forearm, draped over the half-breed's shoulder.

"Okay, you're definitely turning into a huge pain, woman. Now we've got to backtrack countless miles and hours just because you might be having some sort of allergic reaction or something."

"Bliss…" Kursed sighed. "Calm down; look at the coordinates." She closed her teeth together and added, "You're still a perverted jezebel."

O'Donnell cracked a hint of a smile. She rotated her head somewhat and squinted at the computer gauntlet just a few inches from the right side of her face. "Wait a second…" She tried to pull her head away from it, making sure she was reading it correctly. "You're telling me that your birthing chamber is _here_ at the same complex? The warehouse for this stupid radioactive ore is at the same place?"

"Indeed – it's a secluded research facility that has _many_ uses – luckily for us, Dash ordered this place to be abandoned in order to draw attention _away_ from it. If we're spotted here, the bio scan will be our alibi." A thick string of drool ran down from her lips. "I'm struggling to stand…"

Bliss grumbled to herself and reached her right paw over to the left, wiping away the slimy mess. "You're a damn wreck." She lowered her paw, wiping the saliva on Kursed's shirt. "Okay – it's not far, let's go."

With every step, Kursed felt heavier. By the time they approached the main building, her feet dragged, staggering up to the door. O'Donnell forced it open then helped her temporary ally inside. There, in the lobby, Kursed's body gave out. She dropped to the ground and rolled onto her back, shallow breaths barely causing her chest to rise and fall. "Before, I was cursed to evade death – Things have changed; I'm consistently brushing up against the Grim Reaper's robes. Everything is different now."

"Will you shut up for a minute?" Bliss paused then smirked. "Look at me – scolding you for whining… Okay, stay with me long enough to tell me how to operate the scanner thing." She reached her right paw beneath Kursed's legs and lifted the woman from the ground. In a few short moments, she found the revitalization chamber and laid Kursed on a bed inside of a large glass cylinder. There was a top section on hinges. "It looks like a see-through coffin." She withdrew her arms from beneath Kursed's body and asked, "What do I do?"

"Close the lid and wait." Kursed's eyes fluttered shut and her breathing became rhythmic and soft.

Bliss grimaced, closed the lid over the blue-furred woman's body and folded her arms. She approached a nearby monitor and watched the progress bar on the side. It quickly escalated to the one hundred percentile marker then displayed the words, '_Subject shows signs of ostensible health status. Nominal breathing detected. Superficial scans show both shallow pulse and low blood pressure. Please wait; now performing a thorough scan.'_ Bliss glanced down at her own tapping foot then paused. She lifted her eyes back to the screen and narrowed her gaze. Another message read, '_Analysis complete. Subject status: Unconscious. Reason for symptoms: Unknown. Warning: thought patterns do not match previous recordings on file. Severe change in brain function detected. Prognosis: Subject will lack full brain functionality upon revival. Cause: UNKNOWN.'_

A sigh followed. Bliss stuffed her paws into her pockets then approached the cylindrical glass coffin. "I sure as crap never saw _this_ coming." She sighed again, leaving a foggy breath mark on the glass. After a few seconds it faded. She lowered her eyes in frustration.

Quite suddenly, Kursed's palm met the glass and her eyes snapped open. She began clawing at the glass interior, creating a squeaking sound. Bliss quirked a brow and slowly backed away from the animalistic outburst. "What… in the hell?"

Kursed tossed her head listlessly from left to right then began growling. Her body lifted from the bed, hovering inches from the cushioned bottom. Her tail hung from her rump, pooled on the mattress, beneath.

Bliss found herself blinking rapidly in surprise. "What the hell? How in the hell is she floating?" She lowered her head, peering beneath the levitating female. Kursed's shirt hung from her form, still commanded by gravity despite her body's unnatural force defying ability. The sapphire-furred creature became incredibly calm although she retained an elevated rate of breathing. Her tousled cerulean locks were splayed in every direction, equally breaking the law of gravity. Kursed's body slowly dropped back to the mattress, her breathing regained some measure of normalcy and, finally, her eyes opened.

An electrifying sensation ran up Bliss' spine, like a scaly cold finger. The fur on the back of her neck stood on end and an icy chill, powerful enough to cause her skin to crawl, pierced her skull causing a momentary headache. The pain dulled then faded, leaving O'Donnell woozy. Again, she backed away from the glass chamber.

The top opened on its own. The hinges creaked in a cliché way, much like a coffin lid opening after years of being closed. Kursed sat up and peered over at the hybrid wolf-vixen. She lifted her paws and studied them then said, "I look… and feel… younger than I remember. Where are they?"

"Who?"

Kursed calmly shifted her eyes from left to right. "The Kew… How did I wind up back in Lylat?" She looked Bliss over from head to toe then added, "Venom to be exact. That _is_ where we are, yes?"

"Are you kidding? You don't _remember_? You were thrown from the sedan and landed in the mud – I pulled your tail out of there and cleaned you up then we came here. You promised to help me find Carey if I help _you_." The icy sensation filled Bliss again, causing her ears to lower and her body to shudder. "Is that _you_? Are you probing me or something?"

"I remember nothing after my capture, save that I woke up on Kew."

Bliss approached the chamber, took Kursed's paw and helped her to the floor. "When did that crap happen?"

Kursed finished scanning O'Donnell's mind for details on current events, the date and conversations Bliss recalled having with Kursed from the past day. After a moment, Kursed frowned. "Apparently, according to today's date, my last current memory happened twenty-four _years_ ago. Before that, I remember the Anglars, the Aparoid invasion, Sauria… the destruction of Cerinia... That means I am approximately…" she paused to do the mental math then announced, "Forty-eight in Cornerian revolutions." She slid to the floor and approached a reflective metal cabinet. The vixen's eyes widened and she touched her face in surprise. "My _god_, I look _twenty_."

"You're also way more tone than when I saw you on Fichina. Dash rebuilt your body and did work on your brain. Part of your skull is plastic – you have a computer chip running your heart and basic body functions. Remapped brain tissue has been restored so you have full natural use of your frontal lobe."

The Cerinian vixen jerked her head back at Bliss. "I'm not normal flesh and blood?" She blinked then asked, "What has come of Fox McCloud?"

"Your doppelganger is _married_ to him. You're in a parallel universe to your own – Geeze, you really _don't_ remember crap, do you?"

"Married!" she exclaimed, throwing her paws in the air. The metal cabinet dented inward without so much as a single touch. Kursed turned back to it then furrowed her brows at the distorted image. She lifted a paw and traced the curvature of the indentation. "…Did _I_ do this, just now?"

"Hell if I know," retorted O'Donnell. "You were floating a few minutes ago. I don't know how in the hell you did that. Just don't…" A noise brought them both to silence. Bliss moved to the door and put her back against the bulkhead. She leaned towards the doorframe and lifted her left ear, straining to hear.

Conversely, Kursed narrowed her gaze and growled. She lifted her paws outwards just as the door opened. One of the outer guards came through with his weapon drawn. Kursed clinched her paws into fists then opened them with her fingertips outstretched. The gun flew from the marmoset's grip, struck him beneath the jaw and, quite suddenly, became lodged in the ceiling. He flipped backwards, landing on the ground in the doorway. His body convulsed for several seconds then became motionless. The gun fell from the ceiling, breaking on the floor.

Cautiously, Bliss O'Donnell approached the simian, placed two fingers against his neck then frowned. She moved her fingers across his throat then reached for his wrist. "He's _dead_."

"Broken neck," said Kursed with a confirming nod. She lifted her paws, examining them again. "I'm not sure how I did that. You say Fox McCloud is _alive_ here?"

"And he's married to _you_ with a son named Marcus."

Lifting her gaze from the youthful paws, Kursed blinked again. "Named after my father? That's odd." Once more, she probed the hybrid's mind then said, "Let us complete our mission. It would be best that I possess this strange energy-enriched ore. We need to find my spell stones. They power my ship. I see in your thoughts that we'll require the assistance of your …_girlfriend_ in order to make use of this ore. Where is Dash's grandfather?"

A gawk was offered in reply. "He's dead! The last recorded mention of him was six and a half years ago, but that's only a rumor. No one has personally seen him in ages. Don't you remember anything at _all_?"

"…Not since my capture on Kew. I remember fearing for my life."

"Well pull it together, Kursed."

The woman froze, looking over Bliss for a moment. "I'm rather fond of that name. It suits me far better than _Krystal_. I see, by looking into your mind, that I've called myself such for quite some time… I wonder why."

"Hell if I know," said Bliss with a shrug. "Now that an outside guard is dead, we should get moving. Those guys were ordered to stay _outside_ of the research facility. I don't know why he broke the rules to come and see what's going on, but I'm willing to wager that we're running out of time. Let's grab this radioactive crap and blow this coop. We need to find Carey, too."

"Fair enough – I see that you've risked yourself to rescue me then struggled with me until we arrived here… I appreciate that. I will help you find your… mate." A moue of disgust crossed her blue-furred muzzle. "I can't fathom what that must be like."

"You're the telepath," said Bliss, snorting disdainfully. "You don't have to fathom it or imagine it… you can spy on my memories and see for yourself."

The curious vixen nodded and probed Bliss' mind again. After a moment she tilted her head. "Your concept of love is radically different than how I felt about Fox. It's also quite different than my short-lived experience with Panther Caruso. Quite a charmer but a mistake nevertheless. I see you have a very low opinion of Panther."

"He's a good pilot – pretty decent with a weapon, too." She turned away from Kursed and glanced out the door, into the hallway. Seeing it was clear, she looked over her shoulder at the other woman and shrugged. "I just don't like that he always has to say something idiotic and demeaning. The guy is hopeless – even _I_ resist women better than he does. If a pretty girl bats her lashes at him and asks a meaningless favor, he'll go out of his way for her. He's a bonafide retard."

"Fair enough." She waved her paw in a dismissing fashion and, to both their surprise, the body on the floor darted across the room, coming to stop against a concrete wall. It slumped to the floor in the back corner. She turned towards the body and quirked a brow. "I've never possessed such abilities before that I'm able to remember."

"Get him out of here – if you have to come back here, you don't want to have a rotting body stinking up the place."

Kursed focused on the slumped corpse then jerked her left paw to the right. The body launched into the side wall, passed through it and disappeared. Bliss approached the hole in the concrete wall and squinted. After a moment, she glanced back at Kursed and blinked. "He's gone clean through the wall, passed through the next two, and …so far as I can tell, he's outside now. How did you do that?"

"I don't know," said Kursed with a frown. "It comes quite natural."

"First I've heard," retorted Bliss.

* * *

**Fox placed his palm upon his wife's cheek**. "You seriously remember nothing of our marriage?" Part of him felt relief that they could start over, fresh, without all the awkward past notions of his betrayal. He didn't want her to remember when he kicked her off the team because it hurt her. Now there was a clean slate. He wondered how things would differ in their relationship for the time being.

"I've never actually met you in person before now," she began, adding, "So far as I can recall. And, yet, I know you're Fox McCloud and I adore you." She changed gears in the conversation and tilted her head. "The last time I saw you was in a dream-state. I was almost nine years old and you…" She lifted her paws, attempting to count on her fingers to figure out the Cornerian revolutions.

"Fifteen," said Fox. "You came to me in my dreams (A/N: Chapter1 – Reflections of Fox). Every dream became clearer than the last. I never understood them until after we were already married. So, you know Marcus is your son, but you don't remember raising him?"

Krystal shook her head and frowned. She lifted a paw and placed it upon the top of his, which still rested on the side of her face. "I remember nothing. For all I know, I'm still a virgin – I don't know how to utilize my powers beyond very base sensations. I can tell you're worried for me but, in some measure relieved. I can't tell why, nor can I read your thoughts. I know my race has that ability. However, I still possess most all of my cognitive skills, so near as I can tell." She pointed to lettering on the hanger wall. "It says, '_Please secure equipment in the storage facility_' but I couldn't tell you the _name_ of that language. It's certainly nothing I learned on Cerinia_._"

"Cornerian," Fox told her with a sigh. "You're jumping from adolescence to retirement. It doesn't seem fair…"

She balked quirking a brow. "Retirement? I know forty-eight is _old _but it's not _that _old! Who retires at only forty-eight?"

Fox returned with a nervous chuckle. "You were content to settle down and relax – feet up and fine dining… more spooning, less danger." He drew his paw from her face and said, "I'm a mercenary. It's a dangerous life style. I promised you that we would retire when we began raising a family… What _really _happened was more like a sabbatical. Later, now that Marcus is running the team, I promised you again… then a mission came up and you allowed us to become a team _one last time_."

She shrugged and placed both of her paws upon his face. "Fox, are _you_ feeling _too old_ to be a mercenary?"

"No, of course not. I know _some_ people like to wind down after a certain age, but I'm far from that."

"Did we make a great team?" Her eyes shined like diamonds.

"Damn right we did. We still do," Fox replied. His enthusiasm made her smile. Her smile made him grin in return. "We always will."

"Then there is no point in retiring," she whispered with a demure smile. The two leaned into one another and shared a kiss… Krystal's first kiss, so far as she could remember. And, as far as she was concerned, it was absolutely divine.

* * *

**Marcus pivoted on his heel**, pacing back along the straight line between walls. Fara Phoenix sat on his favorite lounge chair in silence. However, the mood he was in began to annoy her. Finally, the fennec stood up and approached her boyfriend. She took his right paw and glared into his eyes. "Stop moping. I mean it."

"I'm sorry, it's just strange. My mother was supposed to sit down and become my teacher. I'm ready to go back to work. Now that my abilities are reaching maturation, she's supposed to sit down and show me how to use what I've got… I waited six years, thinking it wouldn't happen… now she doesn't remember anything but the basics. The last time she used her abilities, she only had about thirty percent development. All of her experiences are out the window, so now she can't teach me squat."

Fara placed a finger against his chest and said, "Stop it. No more moping. What if she never came back? You'd never learn, _plus_ you'd be without your mother. At the very least, you've got her back. Part of you already figured you'd never learn from her _any_how… you thought she was _gone_. Did you mope about it then? Of course not. At least not around _me_. So I need you to pull it together. As it stands, your abilities are now more advanced than hers, right?"

"From what I can tell," he said. "I sense she's still down on the flight deck, but she's not replying to my thoughts. I don't know if she can hear me or if she doesn't know how to reply… or, maybe, it's beyond her range because she forgot how to channel her mind."

"There is one thing I don't understand," said Fara. "Did she lose all of her skills? Can she read and write?"

"Yes, I believe she's retained those abilities. That's different from memories. A skill or a talent is ingrained in your brain. You recognize words, phrases, patterns, math and how to communicate verbally."

"Then what about using your powers?"

"They're not powers… so much as abilities; we train our brains to read and write, we _reflect_ on our frontal lobe faculties." Marcus froze, seeing a deadpan glare from Fara. He lifted his paws and said, "Okay, let me give you an example. Let's say someone teaches you martial arts. Then, you lose your memory. If someone attacks you, you'll subconsciously block a jab, flip them over your shoulder and kick out the backside of their knee. Now they're down. But you will _not_ remember how to actively draw on your inner chi and use it to break a cinderblock _unless_ you used to do it all day long until it became a typical day-to-day action… In that case, you'd only be able to do it if you're not consciously thinking about it. You could subconsciously summon that ability if your friend is trapped beneath a pile of concrete, but if you're trying to show off how to break a block… you wind up hurting your paw. Am I making sense?"

"To a degree," replied Fara. "You're saying that I would have the ability to read and write. I would have the ability to pen a report, sentence by sentence. However, if I sat down to a crossword puzzle, my vocabulary _might_ be limited to words I've trained my brain to know. Fancier words, names, places or things that I've _memorized_ wouldn't be available to me. If the crossword puzzle was themed for movies, characters and places I've never seen… I wouldn't be able to do the puzzle. Why? Because I've never heard of those words before because I don't remember seeing that movie, character or place."

"I think we're on the same page here, sweetheart." He offered a grin.

She placed a paw on his chest and said, "I'd know how to touch you in all the right ways, I just wouldn't remember your absolute favorite spot to be touched." She lifted both of her paws, reached behind his head and met his gaze. Her fingernails danced behind his ears, listening to the soft churring that emanated from the back of his throat. "Losing one's memory could be exciting. You'd have to explore your mate all over again as though it was the very first time. Everything is new and magical. Your heart is afire with unbridled naïve passion. Everything is fresh, unexpected… Don't get me wrong, though… I've always felt everything is fresh with you, Marcus."

"You're being sweet to me," he said, using one of her recent phrases back on her. He reached for her left paw, pulled it down and interlaced his fingers with hers. She responded with a soft purr, not unlike that of a feline. He leaned forward until his forehead was against hers. It was rare instances like this one that Fara's personality went from _take-charge_ into _enjoy-the-ride_. He sensed she occasionally liked to give up her self-sense of control. He took a deep breath and decided to try something… _different_.

"What do your _reflections_ tell you about _me_ right now, Marcus?"

"That you love me as much as I love you." Marcus captured her other paw then lifted them both above her head. He pivoted on his heel so that he guided her back flush against the bulkhead. He crisscrossed her paws at the wrist, pinned above her ears, to the porthole window. In the background, distant stars floated by, behind her head. He gazed into her eyes and leaned in, beneath her chin, pressing his lips against her neck.

The fennec swooned, enthralled by his touch. "I don't know where this is coming from," she murmured, "but I'm not arguing." She lifted her head, offering him better access to her collarbone. A shiver ran down the woman's spine and she lifted her left leg, brushing her silky-soft calf against his outer thigh.

Using his right palm to keep both of her forearms crossed one over the other; he brought his left down to caress her face, torso and her right hip. He kept her from moving, taking a moment to assert some measure of tender dominance by exploring her form. She relished every second of their proximity. They moved like two lovers dancing in the moonlight.

"I swear, if someone disturbs this…" Fara's voice trailed off, followed by a high pitched beeping in the background. She shifted her eyes, peering over Marcus' head. "I _knew_ it. This sort of thing _always_ happens."

"ESP, huh? Now who is the one who has 'abilities', Fara?" His eyes flitted to the gap between her neck and shoulder, watching the stars dance about her head like an aura beyond the Plexiglas. "We'll just bookmark this chapter for later."

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah, we'll bookmark the chapter… but still, it's like… some _idiot_ writer decided to pen a cliché event in an annoying attempt at humor."

"And how am _I_ being written today?" asked Marcus with a slight grin. He lifted his head from her neck and released her forearms.

She offered a pouty look and said, "…A tease." Fara walked across the room and snatched her communicator from the coffee table. She cleared her throat melodramatically then answered the hail. On the other end, a thin male voice filled the audio port.

With a scowl, she lashed out at the caller. "It's _four in the morning_, Cornerian Capital standard! What's so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

Marcus couldn't hear the man's reply on the other end well enough to understand it. He settled down on the sofa and grinned inwardly. With eyes shut, he listened to the gekkering vixen but, after a few moments, sensed surprise and distress radiating from her mind. His eyes snapped open and he watched her in curiosity.

Fara grew calm, spoke softly then closed the communicator. Her head swiveled to the left, facing Marcus with wide eyes. "A Venom _battleship_ was sighted in Sector-X. Corneria sent a reconnaissance squadron to gather intelligence and the fighter escort deviated from their flight path… they engaged the Cornerian fighters. The squadron disappeared from Corneria's sensor grid about ten minutes ago. Listen, Corneria wants to know its capabilities and, if possible, offer defensive retaliation. I'm the closest."

He approached her and placed his fingers against the small of her back. "Nothing says action like a team of riled up foxes in space combat. C'mon, I'll get Falco, Ted and Vivian to their cockpits." He walked to the wall across from the window and pressed a button on a control panel. "ROB, head to the Sector-Y jump gate. A Venom battleship was reported in Sector-X and we've been given permission to check it out and engage. Make best possible time." He spread his fingers apart, pressing in on a second button besides the first. "StarFox, we're heading to Sector-X. Venom apparently has itself a battleship _with_ a fighter escort. They dispatched a Cornerian recon squadron – we've been given the green flag to return fire on behalf of Corneria. Everyone to the flight deck on the double!"

With a wink, Marcus told Fara, "Like I said, we'll bookmark that tender moment. You know I _always_ want to nibble on you. You're worth the wait."

"You're being sweet to me," she replied. She realized she was repeating what he said earlier and they both chuckled in spite of one another. Her lips met his then she patted his cheek. "See you in space, flyboy." Fara left his quarters with the handheld communicator nestled in her palm. She hurried to her quarters to get a flight suit.

* * *

A/N: _So, the question remains… are Kursed and Krystal somehow joined mentally? Or was this about to happen anyhow; it just happened to __coincide__ with Krystal touching that object? If the latter holds true, then that means we still have absolutely NO insight as to what that thing is! It sure didn't cause any trouble for Marcus, right? _

_See you soon with Chapter 8: "Back to Work"_

_By the way, I've had some people tell me that all the mush (romantic scenes in general) make them feel awkward. I've also had people request it, like the guy who recently said he wanted to see some sparks between Fara and Marcus. Don't worry, I've fairly awesome plans for Marcus and Fara. So I ask you all: HOW IS THE MUSH? I know StarFox has a limited supply of females to provide feedback on the romance. …So c'mon, tell me – do you guys like the love scenes? _

_See, it's like this: Sly Cooper's fandom has about fifty-five percent female readers. And more than half of them are VERY vocal, so they ALWAYS tell me when I'm doing something right after I throw'em a passionate scene between Sly and Carmelita. _

_Did you know chapter 9, Box Therapy, in "Spy Cooper", has almost THREE TIMES more hits than any other chapter in that story. It has more reviews, generated WELL OVER 25 PMs and had a lot of readers asking for a "non-edited" version of that scene. So I wrote one and told people, during chapter 10, that it was available. _

_I digress – MY QUESTION TO YOU IS THIS: are you people tired of seeing Fox and Krystal, Marcus and Fara go horizontal? See, to me, it was a theme in my marriage. Passion, that is. _

_Also, did anyone catch Marcus' pun on the title theme? He refers to his abilities as "reflections" which, inadvertently, gives the series' name a little more meaning, doesn't it? :D_

_See you next chapter!_


	8. Back to Work

A/N: _Surprise ending ahead… Muwahaha. Also, after this chapter, I'd like to explore Fara and Marcus' relationship more in depth… just a little. I won't make it a centralized theme, but I would like to have them go to the next step in their relationship… I'm not quite sure what that will be, just yet… There is plenty of passion felt between the two foxes, but their relationship needs more 'true love' spin. I'll see about exploring that avenue in the near future._

* * *

Chapter -8-  
"Back to Work"

**Slippy Toad stood on the catwalk, watching Theodore and his friends gear up for battle.** He lifted his handheld communicator and took a snapshot with the integrated camera feature. He turned his head to Fox McCloud and grinned. "I want my six years b-b-back, Fox. I can identify with K-Krystal. I mean, we finally come back and our kids are g-grown. Amanda feels the same way."

"Funny how Falco was true to his word," replied McCloud. The vulpine pilot placed his paws on the handrail and watched as his school-hood friend slid down into the cockpit far below. "I told him I would leave the team to be with Krystal and he said he'd fly and fight until the day he died." _(SF: Command)_

"I'm too old to chase down bogies," said Slippy with a shrug. "But you're not."

"We're the same age!"

"It's a mentality thing," explained the frog with a shrug. "I'm happier when I'm tinkering. Look at Peppy – he picked up a hobby and relaxed. But I'm willing to wager if Mister James was still alive, he'd still fly on occasion."

"Funny you should say I'm…" Fox paused then reworded his statement. "It's amusing you think I'm still in the frame of mind to gallivant around Lylat." His eyes met those of Slippy and the two grinned at one another. Fox brought his right paw back and rubbed at the nape of his neck. "Now that Krystal doesn't remember me kicking her off the team and making her second fiddle to Star Fox, she's actually _trying_ to _convince_ me _not_ to retire. But it doesn't feel right."

"Why not?" Slippy jabbed his friend in the hip. "Now is your chance, dummy."

Fox shook his head. "She's not in the right frame of mind. It's… how do I explain this? She's…"

Slippy lifted his hands and said, "It's like that girl back in high school – she wanted to sleep with you, but you refused because she was drunk. You _knew_ she wouldn't have slept with you the day before, when she was sober, so you refused her request the next night, when she was lit up like a chandelier."

"More or less," said Fox with a confirming nod. "If Krystal still had her memories, she would be content to lay down our family arms and stop being the Warriors of Lylat. I hurt her in the past when I put Star Fox first and her heart second. And that's just it, back then she would have fought with me, side by side, until we were older than dirt. But because I made her feel ashamed; because I kicked her off the team and said, '_It's too dangerous for you_' I sullied things for her. I soured her idea of what I do for a living."

"You screwed up."

Fox grinned. "Exactly. Funny how you're usually the wordy one and this time you summed up that whole rant in just a few words."

"Yeah, f-f-funny how that worked out, huh?" Slippy ribbed him again. "When she gets her memories back, you retire. For now, if she doesn't want to retire then don't retire. Why? It's simple, Fox. You're compromising. What if you're doing the opposite of what you did to her before? Last time, you kick her off the team… but what you _really_ did was alienate her. If she doesn't want to retire and you do it anyway… guess what you're doing all over again? You're alienating her. Remember back when I helped you during the Anglar invasion? I l-l-left Amanda on Aquas to help you. But I did my best to make contact with her during the mission. I told her that I won't be long – that everything will be all right. She was understanding because I talked to her and I didn't alienate her. Yes, I chose Star Fox over my fiancé, but I talked to her about it as best as I was capable of doing with the system-wide communications grid down at the time. I asked her to forgive me, but told her I had to put Lylat, honor and my duty first… so I could protect everyone _including_ her."

Fox canted his head, offering the frog a sidelong glance. "There… much wordier." They both turned their heads to the flight deck, watching as each ship took off. The well-aged fox sighed and said, "I wish I lost _my_ memories. Then I wouldn't treat Fara's relationship with such disrespect. And, yeah… you're right. Women can be pretty understanding if you just sit down and talk things out. I didn't do that with Krystal – I just kicked her off the team, thinking she would go become a philosopher or something."

"She had a tame heart when you met her," said Slippy, adding, "But she's always been fiery. The first time you put a gun in her hand, she was ready to k-k-kick some t-tail. As dad used to say about me, she lives her life with gusto."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean? She's zealous?" Fox cradled his head to his paws, supported on the catwalk beam by his elbows, watching as the last fighter left the flight deck. "I wish we had fighters down there – I really want to be in a cockpit right now."

"I guess he meant passion." Slippy shrugged. "If you're out there giving it your all, living your life by the seat of your skivvies… If you don't have r-regrets, if you're fighting with your heart… you're doing it with 'gusto'. Dad liked to use his fancy vocabulary once in a while… I'm starting to pick up on that in my old age."

"You're _fifty-five_," said Fox, shaking his head.

"No, but _you _are, Fox. I turn fifty-five in six weeks. …Old man." The two grinned at one another again.

"How fast can your shuttle get us back to Katina? Maybe we can borrow some Cornerian military fighters – Bill Gray owes me."

Slippy shook his head with a delighted grin. "You're incorrigible! Are you _really_ that hard-pressed to go out there and fly with your son? Fine, I've got a fighter for you. C'mon, let's go get you suited up, loaded out and in the air."

Fox quirked his brows and tilted his head in confusion. He fell into step behind Slippy and walked to the stairs at the end of the catwalk.

* * *

**An explosion rocked the squadron**. Marcus broke to port while Falco, Theodore and Vivian cut to the starboard. Fara moved down, breaking away on her own. McCloud drew his grandfather's sunshades and pushed them up his snout until they were snug on his face. "It sure is bright out here – is everyone's cockpit polarized? Let's try and use the sunlight to our advantage. I want to try and turn these guys towards the sun, so that they have no choice but to fly with their instruments."

"This is quite a battleship," said Fara over the dashboard communicator. "How in the heck did Venom build one without Corneria finding out?"

"We'll worry about that later," said Falco over the channel. "Let's rough these guys up. Let Corneria go through the wreckage and investigate all the details later."

"The firepower is too much," said Vivian next. "We've got two very experienced pilots, but I'm sitting here doing the math – let's just say I don't like stalemates, so we need to come up with a good battle plan, here."

"Anyone else have something to say?" asked Falco. "No? Then let's quit the yackin' and start fighting. I've got a multi-lock, so I'm going after their turrets."

"Hold up," replied Marcus in a sharp voice. "I sense that's their plan – I think that's how they destroyed the Cornerian recon group. They probably waited until the fighters got close. We need some way to confuse them. There's only five of us, so we need to be smart about this."

"Don't let yourself get frustrated." Fara's voice was smooth and calm. "Do what you've got to do to relax your mind, Marcus. Let's start with their fighter cover first. We'll lure them away from the big fish then we'll converge on it as a group."

"Is that the official plan?" asked Falco.

"Works for me, let's take it too'em," said McCloud, coming about with his Arwing. He locked on to the nearest enemy fighter then engaged his boost to chase. "There sure are a lot of these guys! What's the usual escort? Eight fighters or so?"

Theodore's voice entered the channel. "We're easily up against forty heavy-armored fighters and sixteen highly maneuverable light fighters. Fifty-six against five… Heck, I don't give a hill of beans; I've seen worse! Let's show'em who's the boss in these parts!"

"That's my language! _Now _you're talking my lingo," Falco crowed. Seconds later, a flash illuminated the sector. Falco Lombardi scored the first official kill. His voice returned to the channel, filled with excitement. "Now _that_ is what I'm talking about… Jeeze, hold up – I've got _three guys_ on my tail. I think they mean business… dammit. C'mon… c'mon…"

Another flash filled the area, followed by a new voice. "Just stay calm." The voice belonged to Fox McCloud. Seconds later, three explosions registered on the second scope; three red dots, the ones trailing behind Falco Lombardi, disappeared. The avian came about, parallel to the Little Wyvern.

"Gee… I've been saved by Fox… _how swell_. What in the heck are _you_ doing out here? And in your _father's _old dinosaur? Heh, you'd better not scratch it – I hear Fara paid a lot of money for that thing."

Fox's visual filled everyone's dashboard screen. "Do I ever scratch my ship? Oh, wait, that's _you_, Falco." He offered a grin then said, "Besides, Fara paid for what was _inside_ of the ship. While loading Nova bombs, we found a diary belonging to dad and some other stuff stored in the belly. I'll tell you guys all about it later. Let's rock'n roll!"

"Hallelujah," shouted Lombardi, falling into formation with his old team leader. "C'mon, kids! I'm ready to stomp these losers!"

"Get back into formation with your _real_ team leader," Fox said in a somewhat scolding tone of voice. His admonishment was fairly surprising to everyone but he stood behind his decision on the matter, adding, "Falco, Marcus needs a complete team behind him if he's to have any chance out here, right?"

Fara came to Fox's defense on the matter, anticipating something nasty from the avian. She cleared her voice and said, "I'll go with Fox and we'll worry about the nimble fighters. While we keep those guys off your backs, take out the heavy fighters because they're the ones who are well armed and able to cause problems for us. I want to keep those guys from taking out _our_ place to land, if you know what I mean."

In a completely relaxed voice, Falco finally said, "It's all good, guys – it doesn't matter which McCloud I fly with, so long as we get the job done." His voice took on a sharp tone, shouting, "Here they come!"

"Everyone check your Heads Up Display," exclaimed Theodore. All the fighters, save for the Little Wyvern, displayed a holographic display of the enemy numbers. A bar to the far left showed the shields of the battleship. "Okay, that thing is still at full power – I don't know if we're carrying anything that will put a hole through their phase shields. Maybe a combination of our fire power will cut through. We'll have to see what happens."

"Permission to break formation?" chimed Vivian.

"Stay on the heavies," Marcus told her. "Leave the quick little light fighters to Fara and dad – let's do this, gang." He cut to the left and dropped behind a well armed heavy fighter. His targeting computer analyzed the enemy's payload and flashed a warning on his canopy's HUD. The fox narrowed his eyes. "They're carrying ship-killer torpedoes. I wish I could figure out their original target so I could get an idea about what's going on with the bad guys."

"Look at that…" Fara's voice was respectful, full of wonder. "Everyone, Fox and I made it around to the starboard side of the battleship… They have an Imperial logo painted on the far side. They also have quantum torpedo bays on the front end. The tubes jut ten feet out the front of their hull. They could target multiple ships and fire upon everything all at once. We have no choice but to destroy this thing. I want to know her mission, too… but that thing is too dangerous; we _have_ to take it out immediately."

"Fara's right," said Fox. "This thing looks as though it's designed to wage war against a small battle fleet. There are over sixty torpedo tubes on the starboard side, gang. Also, our fighters won't have the firepower to scratch this thing."

A new feminine voice joined the communication's channel. "And that's why I'm here to join the party!" Krystal, at the helm of the GreatFox – the team's fully-assembled flying fortress – brought the large ship in at a high rate of speed from the opposite end of the sector. "I'm engaging their ship, using the help of Lucy and Slippy. ROB is manning the turrets. We're going to go after their shield generators and engines. It appears their weapons are off line, save for the torpedoes. We're staying on their port, away from those torpedo bays. So! Keep those heavy fighters off of us, sweetheart."

"Krystal!" Fox, incredulous from her appearance, appeared both pleased and worried.

"I'm not the kind of girl to sit on the sidelines," she said, adding, "At least _I_ don't think I am – it doesn't seem natural, that's for sure. So, keep those heavies off of GreatFox!"

"We're on it, mom," replied Marcus with a slight grin tugging on his muzzle. "Okay, Vivian, break formation and use your multi-lock. Falco, target all the heavy fighters and as soon as Vivian fires, you fire off a second shot. We'll hit'em in rounds. Theodore, try and send the information to GreatFox, so they can see whatever it is your personal sensor is showing. I want them to know the shield levels of that battleship before they begin fighting it."

"I'm working on it," said Theodore in a quick, short tone. "Geeze, I'll admit – this thing is making me nervous, that ship is _really_ quite big. How in the world did Venom construct one without anyone even seeing it?"

"Worry about that crap later," shouted Falco. "Let's get this thing out of commission, already!"

Back on the GreatFox, Krystal sat on the edge of the captain's chair. Lucy sat in front of the helm with ROB at the tactical controls. Slippy sat in another chair over on the facing wall, pressing buttons. He looked over his shoulder and told her, "The hull plating is polarized. We're ready for battle."

Chester, seated at the communication's station, said, "I've scanned the sector for radio activity – I don't think these guys have any backup hiding in the asteroids. We're safe to engage without worry."

The lithe blue vixen scooted off the chair and stood. She sauntered towards the main view screen; hips sashayed with a flit of her tail for each and every step. Krystal stopped in front of the screen and rubbed the bottom of her jaw, thoughtfully. "It looks like we have a clear path right _now_."

"It's tough to say," said Lucy. "ROB? I know you wouldn't let anything happen to us – should we move up the middle and strike now, while everyone else is distracted?"

ROB paused to run a mental calculation then said, "We would need to close ranks for our main guns to punch through their phase shields. We could make a pass – the heavy fighters have scattered; our fighter cover is strongest at the center of the field. And, yes Lucy – I would never let anything happen to _you_." To his monotone words, Lucy smiled. He saw the look and immediately looked away, as if nervous, tending to his station again. "We're …er, ready Mrs. McCloud."

Krystal grinned at his words. "Mrs. McCloud," she repeated. "It has a nice ring. Krystal _McCloud_. All right. Full power to our aft shields – I don't want anyone taking a potshot with our tail exposed. Flank speed – cut _down_ when you're ten thousand meters off their bow then fire upon their belly. Ships like that keep their extra fighters on the bottom deck and I want to cripple their ability to launch reinforcements."

"A wise decision," said ROB.

"We're at sixty-thousand meters and closing rapidly. At top speed, we'll reach the destination in six, five, _four_ seconds… and… mark!"

"Fire!" exclaimed Krystal. The excited vixen scurried back to her chair but had too much energy to sit in it. "Keep our backside to them and our shields at maximum, there. When we're thirty-five thousand meters out, come about and confront them, head on. We'll take a swipe at their other side; let's stay at a _twenty-five degree angle_ so they can't target us with those torpedos on the starboard side."

Slippy turned his head and said, "I've got a squadron of four closing at _two o'clock_!"

"Mark their location," replied Krystal, adding, "I want you to send the marker to…" She glanced at the sensor readout above Slippy's head on his console against the wall. "…Fox and Fara." She cut her eyes over to Lucy. "Do we have chaff?"

"Of course!" Slippy interjected.

Krystal nodded and told Lucy, "Shower those fighters in as much chaff as possible. Get ready to bear heard to port – come around so we can make another pass on the enemy battleship…" she turned her attention to the main view screen. "Goodness, it's so…"

Lucy pressed several buttons then looked up at Krystal only to divert her gaze to the main viewer, as well. "…Menacing. Who paints a battleship _black_ with red highlights?"

"Chaff had no effect on the enemy fighters; they must be using newer technology," Slippy chimed in to their conversation, adding, "Fox and Fara have engaged the squadron bearing down on us. The battleship is turning – she's charging her secondary gun turrets."

"Break hard to starboard – we'll zigzag to take minimal damage," replied Krystal, sitting back down in the chair to brace herself. "…Go, go, go," she chanted, watching the large ship on screen. "Deploy a targeting decoy buoy, Slippy."

"We don't have those on this ship!" He looked back to his station and sighed in frustration. "…What about aft torpedoes?"

"Can we fire them but cause them to stall?" Krystal paused then grinned. "Yes, fire them but don't detonate them. Target their guns and fire a full spread but do _not_ detonate them! I want you to try and target the very gun barrels they're charging! Fire!"

Slippy punched several keys then typed a command into a computer. He glanced up at a screen on his console then turned from his station all together. "Nine torpedoes away. They're firing from three guns."

The torpedo casings streaked through the void, passed through the glittering chaff then their propulsion systems paused, sending the nine casings floating towards the enemy target. Seconds later, the guns flashed, roaring to life. They struck the torpedoes, right at the center of the chaff field, causing a massive explosion.

"Clever tactic," said ROB. "They're powering up other weapon systems, Mrs. McCloud. We're coming about, now. They'll be on forward visual in four seconds. Switching the main view screen from aft camera angle to front camera angle."

Again, the iniquitous looking battleship filled the main viewer at the front of the bridge. Krystal gritted her teeth. "She's going to fight like a caged animal if we push her _too_ much. We've got to try and destroy or cripple her before things turn sour. Slippy, target anything that looks important. ROB, fire on whatever he chooses when he's ready."

Both Slippy and ROB, in unison, said, "Aye!" Then, stammering for a moment, Slippy added, "We're coming around at a good angle for attack. At this range, our cruiser section's main plasma gun could punch a big hole straight through their hull plates. However, with one of the guns still missing (_Chapter 3 and 4, Reflections of a New Generation_), I'm reluctant to fire it; the power build up, just because one snapped off, could be damaging to our ship."

ROB turned about and in an unusually loud voice, said to them, "They're powering up an unknown weapon with unknown power capabilities, according to my tactical feed."

Krystal clinched her paws. "Fire the main guns – whatever damage we incur will most likely be better than whatever they are about to fire."

"Can't you sense anything about it?" asked Lucy.

"I don't remember how!" Krystal shook her head rapidly. "All I can sense is their hostile intentions at this point. Fire the main guns."

The GreatFox flying fortress shook hard then, abruptly, the ship powered down, adrift in space. "Emergency power – did we hit them?"

Seconds later, auxiliary power generated just enough energy to display the forward viewer. The battleship filled the screen. A massive hole was present at the center of the enemy craft. Explosions filled random portholes throughout the ship and the exposed keel cracked as the pieces split apart. Krystal sank back in the captain's chair with a sigh of relief. "We've broken her back… what's the damage, Slippy? ROB?"

"We're sitting d-ducks."

ROB added, "We have no defenses. The hull polarization will fade in approximately fifteen minutes. With any luck, our pilots will take out the fighter cover before that time. The discharge from the broken plasma gun was filtered back into the reactor. We're running on backup fusion power."

Lucy frowned. "We're stranded," she muttered.

Chester opened a channel to the team and said, "Star Fox, this is your temporary communication's officer, Chester Paulchen. The battleship is no longer a threat – however, we require you to form a defensive parameter around the ship. Also, lifeboats are beginning to pour off the enemy ship. Fox, Marcus, do we have adequate space to take prisoners back to Corneria?"

Fox and Marcus began speaking at the same time but Fox respectfully grew silent to let his kid run the team. Marcus cleared his throat and began again. "We could comfortably hold their entire crew in a force field cell on the flight deck of the _carrier_ section of GreatFox. However, we don't have the food or bathroom accommodations befitting of a crew that large. Our only option would be to get them back to Corneria for processing in a very short time."

"Not an option," said Chester. "We're having technical difficulties that would, at the very least, prohibit more than just the ability to cater to facilitation needs for a crew."

"What's the short version of the story," replied Marcus over the comm. patch.

Chester frowned, sighed then cleared his throat. Once he rid the emotions in his tone, he said, "We're unable to ferry the crew to Corneria in a timely fashion. I'm sending a text-based encoded message on an encrypted narrow-beam transmission band. Stand by." A short moment passed.

Marcus sounded dismayed. "Acknowledged. Round up the survivors – those lifeboats have limited breathable air. Also, how are your Venom translation abilities?"

"I'm a communication's officer," said the feline with a proud grin. "I'm well rehearsed."

"Good," replied the younger McCloud. "Tell these fighters that we're rescuing their crew and to call off their attack. Tell them to return to a secondary landing point or, if they wish to surrender, power down their ship so that we can bring them in with a tractor beam. Finally, send out a distress beacon to Katina, Fortuna and Corneria. _Someone_ is bound to answer. Tell them we need a prison transporter right away. These men may have knowledge that will help the Interplanetary Defense Council."

Chester looked up from a keyboard, having typed out everything Marcus asked him to do. He licked his lips, glanced over the words on screen then said, "Stand by." He closed the private channel and opened a public one using a popular Venom frequency. "This is Chester Paulchen representing Team StarFox. Surrender yourselves by powering down your fighters. Please wait for us to tractor your ship in. Any action other than this will be considered as hostile intent – we _will_ destroy you if you do not comply. Fighters, either return to Venom or _power down_. We're rounding up the lifeboats belonging to your home location – you will be treated as prisoners until such time that we can turn you over to the proper authorities. Again, I ask you to please power down your ship and wait. The choice is yours but you must make it now. Do not hesitate or we will open fire upon you."

He then repeated the entire statement in Venom's natural language. He operated the switch board, setting up a patch that included Corneria, Fortuna and Katina. Meanwhile, one of the pilots replied to his last message. The gruff voice filled the audio system of the GreatFox Bridge. "We have the option to return to Venom? Are you insane? No fighter has the fuel to make it across Lylat, alone."

Chester smirked and turned back to the dash-mounted microphone. "Who knew? For all I know, you might have decided to fly back to a base hidden nearby. If you don't have the fuel to leave this sector, I suggest you power down your fighter and prepare for surrender. You have sixty seconds to comply." He shifted his attention back to the patch board and opened a channel to the three closest allied planets. "Attention, Corneria, Katina and Fortuna – this is Chester Paulchen. I'm temporarily representing the mercenary squadron known as StarFox. We're rounding up survivors from a destroyed Venom battleship. We're unable to bring these survivors to you and require transportation assistance. We lack the room and facilities to offer a humane prison environment - please comply?"

Static. "Are we cut off?" asked Krystal.

"Checking," replied Chester. After a moment, he nodded. "There's a communication jammer out there, somewhere. It's some sort of buoy that blocks long-distance subspace relay."

Fara's visual popped open on a small screen on his computer. Despite the small monitor, her voice filled the public announcement system on the Bridge. "This is Phoenix – I have an idea. Sensors show that there is a Phoenix Transport ship in the area. It's headed towards Corneria. The next ship is at the very edge of my sensor range. Perhaps we can relay a message to them and have it passed on by beaming an encrypted communiqué from ship to ship until the message reaches the Interplanetary Defense Council. Also, I'll see about asking them for help. Either we can have them come and ferry the Venom prisoners or we'll have several of their ships to come together and tow us back to the nearest planet."

Chester rubbed his chin and turned to Krystal. "Resourceful girl," he mused.

Mrs. McCloud approached Chester and leaned over his shoulder, standing behind his chair. She smiled at Fara and said, "Pull in close to the GreatFox and you can use us to strengthen the communication channel. See if you can't get a hold of both transporter ships… talk to both captains, see what each of them say. It might be better to have them tow us, because transporting prisoners to our ship then again, from our ship to theirs, would be dangerous. We lack trained guards for doing a transfer – that would give the Venom crew a chance to overpower us and escape… I want to keep things simple."

"Okay, I'm on it!" said the fennec over the small screen. "I'll explore all our options with those captains but you're right, simply getting a tow _would_ be the safest option. However, splitting up their crew would be a good idea, too. That way if someone does escape, it wouldn't be a thousand Imperials against a handful of mercenaries."

"Understood," replied Krystal with a confirming nod. She turned back to the rest of the Bridge and said, "Okay guys. Let's figure out what we've got sitting on the _carrier section_'s flight deck and MOVE IT so we can accommodate this hijacked Venom mobile-house party."

"I'm on it!" Slippy stood up and hurried off the Bridge.

* * *

**Fox and Falco** walked side by side through the crowded flight deck. On either side, Venom troops, crew members and scientists surrounded the two pilots. McCloud's eyes cut to the left, peering at one of the ranking lizards through the transparent glowing force field. Their eyes met and locked for a moment until the vulpine passed. "I'm just glad she's still my wife," he told Lombardi.

Falco replied with a shrug and said, "Unlike Katherine. I disappear for six years and now… Katt and I are separated. I mean, don't get me wrong – I'm glad she _didn't_ move on, but damn… Now she's off raising a grandson; she says to me, '_Feel free to get comfortable around me but don't move back in on this family until you're finished being a Mercenary._' I'm like, 'What the hell?' and she says, '_You're involved with the team who destroyed Venom's battle fleet. We saw what they're capable of with that bomb over the capital_ (Ref of a New Generation Chapter 16)_! Most people think they attacked downtown because it was common knowledge that Marcus McCloud was staying in a hospital right at ground zero!'_ so… I don't know what to say about that. You know how women are about drama. They start adding up weird facts 'n crap. Like Venom is going to spend millions of credits when their economy was at its worst, just to assassinate a kid. Yeah right; my tail-feathers they would."

"Still, that's disconcerting. Why make a hospital ground zero? I read that he left without telling anyone, so for a while the news was reporting that he was surely among the dead. Then some guy who owned a drug store claimed to have seen him at the edge of town and people actually got _excited_. It actually made news, Falco. People were _worried_ about him."

Falco lifted his right winged arm, waving his feathery fingers in the air. "So, the bottom line is, Katt doesn't want me to stay near her, Violet and the baby for any longer than a day at a time. They don't want me to draw attention to them because they're doing their best, as it is, to keep James McCloud off the radar."

"And, believe me, I'm glad for it."

Falco shrugged again. "It just sucks – I finally marry the girl only to disappear for six years. I come back and there are all these weird terms and conditions to the frickin' relationship. What a bunch'a crap." As the two walked along down the aisle between force field sections, Falco's eyes drifted to where a marmoset and lizard were in a fist fight. "Hey! Knock it off, you two! Don't make me come in there and separate you chumps!"

The fighting continued until the lizard knocked out his simian adversary. The furry ape lay motionless on the deck. Falco threw his arms upwards in frustration. "What did I _just_ say, scale-face?" The lizard looked back towards the force field wall. Falco's eyes met the reptile's gaze. "Yeah, I'm talking to you! What, you're deaf or something? I told you to lay off!"

"If these walls weren't here," said the man, "you would be next, _old man_!"

"Oh, that's it!" Falco began rolling up his sleeves.

"Hey, what're you doing?" asked Fox, his voice and expression incredulous. "You're not going in there, they'll take you hostage and try to negotiate their release. STILL, after all these years, you've got feathers for brains!"

"Hush," said Falco. He pulled a small flat object from his pocket and removed a stylus from the bottom. He drew a line on it then replaced the stylus and tossed it to Fox. Seconds later, the force field rearranged itself, alienating the lizard from the rest of his crew. "Slippy's kid makes some cool shit, huh? All right, hold that thing for me while I go dent this guy's forehead real quick."

"Falco!"

"Shaddaup, when have I ever listened to you in the past? Don't try and give me orders now, Fox." Lombardi walked into the horseshoe-shaped section, approaching the lizard. Falco held his feathery hand in the air then knelt down by the marmoset. He put his other hand on the man's neck and checked for a pulse. "All right, the guy is alive."

The lizard quickly lunged for Falco with his right fist outstretched. Lombardi's quick pilot eyes perceived a glint of light. Subconsciously, he reacted by reaching for the man's wrist. He brought his knee up, coming up from a crouched position, and pulled the lizard down. Still holding onto the reptile's forearm, his knee meeting the scaly face, Falco quickly forced one arm around the man's neck and jerked the lizard's arm back, so that his arm was twisted about. Lombardi held him in the debilitating chokehold with one arm and used his other to pry a knife from the attacker's scaly fingers.

With a grin, Falco brought the blade to the man's forehead and said, "I told you to settle down. Now you just got a face-full of bionic knee implant. I bet _that_ hurt, didn't it? Don't worry, pal – I didn't feel a thing. Now, the next time you start a fight with…"

"Falco!" Fox's alarmed tone caused Falco to become all business again.

He jerked the knife away from the lizard's face and thrust it back behind himself. The blade in his feathery fist met resistance; he glanced over his shoulder and smirked. The marmoset, who had faked being injured, now had a combat knife shoved into his torso, directly below the collarbone.

Fox rushed into the area and grabbed the ape by his hair and pulled him away from Falco. "That's what you get for trying to stage an ambush… a knife right in your lungs, buddy. Are you still glad you signed up for the Venom military?" The marmoset's body became limp. He struggled to breathe and clutched his hands over the base of his throat, blood seeping out from between his fingers. McCloud pulled him out to the hallway then laid him out on the floor and pushed his paws against the ape's hands to add pressure to the wound. "Damn, you're stupid as hell. All _three_ of you are stupid as hell."

"What about _you_?" Falco asked, directing his question to the lizard. "Your buddy is probably going to die now just because you thought you were being clever. Hey! Let's jump two old dudes! That sure sounds like a _grand_ idea, Einstein! So… do you want a chop to the gizzard, or are you going to behave?" Falco kept consistent pressure to the man's throat, keeping him in the chokehold.

The man mouthed, "Behave," just loud enough for Falco to hear. Lombardi released him then, quickly, spun him about and sucker punched him in the face. The lizard doubled over, covering his eye with both hands. Falco brought his hands down atop the man's head and his knee up into his face, smashing the lizard's snout one more time with his metal knee. The reptile dropped to the floor, rolling from left to right, listlessly.

Lombardi spit on the man's hip and said, "That's right, squirm like the little punk that you are." He turned to Fox and said, "Okay, give me the little gadget-thing. We'll drag the injured guy out to the main aisle and close the force field. Is he stable enough that we can carry him to the infirmary or do I need to get a stretcher?"

"Grab a wheel cart," said Fox, nodding to one of the ordinance carts down at the other end of the flight deck. "We'll move him on that." He paused then said, "Oh and Falco? Grow up, man. This is the reason why there was always so much drama on the old team. You're just… so aggressive sometimes. Then, other times, you're the most laid-back person around. You just lean back, cross your ankles and act like you don't give a damn about anything. Get it together – you're no spring-chicken, man. You're a _grandfather_."

The avian scowled at his ex-teammate and flipped him off. "How's about that? 'The bird' is giving you 'the bird'."

Fox shook his head with a slight chuckle. "All I'm saying is you can't go around causing incidents all the time. One day, it's going to catch up with you; you've got a family to look after and a grandkid."

"How weird is it that we both have the same grandson?" Falco grinned and jabbed McCloud in the shoulder with his left fist. "Okay, give me the little remote control do-dad."

"It's in my vest pocket," said Fox. "I can't take my paws off of this guy's wound – go get a cart, too. I know dinosaurs who move faster than you; let's go."

Falco smirked again, snatched the remote control from Fox's front left pocket and closed the gap in the force field. He walked down the aisle and got an ordinance cart then brought it back. "I was trying to break up a fist fight. How in the hell was I supposed to know it was an escape attempt?"

"You're lucky you didn't get your tail feathers handed to you." Fox nodded to the ape's belt. "Take that off – I want to use it to put pressure on his wound. Hurry! Before he loses too much blood then we'll move him to sickbay. I just want'em off this ship. I need to spend some time with my wife. Her plight is important to me."

"Yeah, yeah…" Falco muttered, unbuckling the ape's uniform belt. A Venom logo was embossed on the brass clasp. "I thought Venom's economy was supposed to be in the crapper? Look how fancy his belt buckle is, Fox. Now, multiply that by a hundred thousand troops. Who's paying for that crap?"

McCloud shrugged. "Maybe Corneria was somehow misled to believe that their finances were in ruin. It's tough to say."

* * *

**Kursed traced her white-painted fingernails over the reflective surface. **A sour note emanated from the mirror. "No, I don't rightly care about Fox McCloud." She turned her head, looking over Bliss O'Donnell. "He's an idiot; a loser. Why, did you _think_ I had some sort of grudge against that bum? He hurt me but other than being worthless… I mean, don't get me wrong – I'd kill him in a back alley if it was just the two of us. I don't have some sort of vendetta, though."

"Before you lost your memories, you were obsessed with murdering him." O'Donnell leaned back in the chair with a sigh. "I wonder how long it will take Dash to notice that we have his precious shipment of stupid metal…"

"If I kill him, I'll take control of his army. But, as far as Fox McCloud, the last thing I remember was being captured and waking up on Kew. They obsessed over the fact that he was able to hurt me and wanted to figure out a way to hurt me the same way. There were a few torture sessions but I endured. Then they told me they would start a new therapy session in the morning… something I would 'never forget'. That's my last memory before waking up in that chamber on Venom."

"You're talking several decades ago," replied Bliss. "So, you have some sort of aspirations to take over Lylat or something? Why would you want control of Dash's small army?"

"I rescued Lylat from the Anglars with the help of StarWolf! Then, those ungrateful idiots sandblasted me; they said I was a traitor! I did what it took to save their lives! But they said I stabbed Fox McCloud in the back and I was booed everywhere I went! Talk about stabbing in the back… they stabbed _me_ in the back because I wouldn't resume a relationship with their precious one-dimensional hero! THEN! To top it all off, Panther wouldn't take up for me! He betrayed me, too. But, worst of all, Lylat has no idea that _Fox_ is the one who stabbed _me_ in the back. He kicked me off his stupid team after all we went through together. Of course I was going to keep the Anglars at bay – I helped StarWolf save the goddess-damned system."

"That's not the way it happened, in this universe," replied Bliss in a calm voice. "Here, your doppelganger leaves StarWolf and Panther… you help Fox rescue Lylat and the two of you rekindle old feelings. A few months later, you leave StarFox and go back to Panther… but with renewed feelings for Fox McCloud, you don't stay very long. Fox is heartbroken without you and, to his surprise and delight, you and Panther give one another closure… you return to Fox out of the blue and meet up together on Sauria… Shortly after, you resume your relationship and are betrothed again. In less than a year, you're married. A year later, you're pregnant with Marcus McCloud. When you first arrived in this dimension, you started some trouble on Fichina and he came to stop you. The two of you had a showdown in the streets while the city was on fire all around ya'. You couldn't get him to fight you so you tricked him… you attacked my brother – his best friend – and somehow you duped McCloud into thinking that Crimson was dead. Next thing I know, McCloud ran you through with your own spear. He kept it as a souvenir. You died shortly after getting impaled. Dash obtained your body – lord only knows how he got it… After that, he rebuilds you and bam… you're alive again. Now you know the whole damn story."

Kursed tilted her head. "Very entertaining. I'll help you rescue the girl, Doctor Granton; you said she's one of the very few people who know anything about this metal down in the hold… I'll need her help in making use of it. I want to create a bomb with it."

O'Donnell threw her paws in the air. She stood up and began pacing the small Bridge of the stolen transporter ship. "Why the hell does everyone want to make a bomb with this crap?"

"I need the power of this device to kick start _this_." Kursed stood up from her seat and carried a small device to Bliss. She handed the data pad to the hybrid vixen and folded her arms then turned away.

Bliss O'Donnell skimmed the words on the small screen then frowned. "This crap is just a theoretical thing. No one has ever invented one – it probably won't even work!"

"Look," said Kursed with an angry look on her face. "I've asked you to tell me the story of how I wound up here …how many times now? Three? Four? Every time you tell it, I listen intently. I've gone back and read the news reel over and over. You know what I get out of it?"

"A nap?"

"Hope, you imbecile!" Kursed's tail flitted with annoyance. "Somehow, someone created this bomb on the other side… and so, I wound up here. Someone _here_ created the bomb already, as well. They used it to send Fox McCloud and his band of clowns over to another universe. I want to go _home_."

"From what I understand, you've already jacked up your universe. You've killed Fox McCloud, you blew up Sauria by removing the spell stones and, somehow, you destroyed another planet – not sure which one."

"I want to go back to where I came from," said Kursed. "I'll leave Lylat and resume finding answers in regards to my race. I'll resume my job as a bounty hunter. I just don't want to do it _here_ with another _me_ running around. This is _her_ universe. I want to go back to _mine_. If I can't, I'll _kill her_ and take her place. I just… don't like the idea of there being _two_ of me. And, yes… I would kill Fox McCloud, too. I don't remember ever having that satisfaction. I have no compunction about killing the happy little McCloud family… I would _never_ marry that fool. It's insulting to even _hear_ that they have a child together. Disgusting."

"Okay, chill out – we've got to find Carey Granton. First thing is first, woman."

"Fair enough." Kursed sat back down at the controls and leaned back in the seat. "Like I said; all I want to do is go home. By the way, what is my doppelganger like?"

Bliss shrugged. "I don't know. Crimson said she's sweet, ladylike and kind. Sounds like a total _girly-girl_ to me."

"Disgusting…" The sapphire vixen's eyes dropped to the deck, shaking her head. "That nauseates me. At the very least, if I let her live before I go home… I would want to open her eyes and make her …"

"More like you?"

Kursed nodded. "…Precisely. I'll need a group of business-minded people who are capable of helping me."

"Would you consider hiring StarWolf to be your bodyguards, more or less?" Bliss grinned inwardly.

"Wolf and Leon would be worthy allies…"

"Panther is part of the deal," said Bliss with a sour look on her muzzle. "I don't care for him, either… but it'll be _fun_ to make him squirm because he's _still_ in love with you. Seriously, you _know_ it would be funny as hell to shut down all his advances."

"And he's a capable pilot… Perhaps you're right." She paused to probe Bliss' mind then said, "They're already working for Dash? Isn't that a conflict of interest?"

"Exactly my point!" Bliss grinned. "I think Dash is the one who has Carey. He's hired dad and his team… that gives us a connection with Dash Bowman's side, so we can keep an eye on his operation from within… then we'll locate Carey, get her out of there… and double-cross Bowman. Meanwhile, dad's team gets paid double, working for both Dash and _you_ at the same time. The only thing is, you need money."

"We'll sell some of that ore on the black market and have plenty of money."

O'Donnell shook her head. "You devious bitch. I hope you know you're playing with fire – that stuff is _dangerous_. Putting it out there for the wrong hands to get hold of it… not a good idea. But yeah, I'm sure it'll be really lucrative."

"Call your father and his team, Bliss. Tell them I would like to meet with them to discuss a business proposition."

Bliss nodded and walked off the Bridge. Kursed returned her gaze to the ornamental mirror she left on the control console. She lifted it and looked at herself again. "Both Fox McCloud _and_ Panther Caruso would drop dead on the spot if they saw me looking this young again." She grinned inwardly. "I might not remember everything between Kew and now, but I'm certainly in the mood to have some fun." She placed the mirror back on the control panel and frowned. "If this Marcus McCloud had the ability to defeat me before, he's still a threat _now_. Perhaps I should make him my first target… That's just self preservation, as far as I'm concerned. The best offense begins with a good defense."

A deep tone came from the back of the Bridge. The doorway to the ready-room office was open, but the lights within the room were extinguished. A dark silhouette stood just within the doorway, so that the Bridge lighting only illuminated them from the waist down. "Do you _really_ think it will be that easy?"

"_You_ never managed to stop the McClouds," retorted Kursed. "So don't even start with me, old man. And if _Bliss_ knew you were here, she would freak… stick to the shadows like the phantom you are. ..Are you _absolutely_ _sure_ that Bliss O'Donnell's significant other will be able to assist you in helping me?"

"You truly _don't_ remember much, do you?"

"I remember that you saved my life shortly after Fox cast me off the StarFox team." Kursed looked away, facing the main view screen. "I _never_ told anyone, just like you asked. I never will."

"Still think it was _me_ who destroyed Cerinia?"

"A part of me does," she replied in a sullen voice. "If I ever find proof that you caused the sun to go supernova, I'll tear you apart. For now, though… I'm content to believe that your intentions were righteous when you rescued me."

"Fox never came to help you that day… I was the _only_ one who ever responded to your distress beacon. Don't forget that. Also, I'll run some tests to see if I can figure out _why_ you've lost some of your memories. And, yes, I agree – it would not be a wise decision to let Bliss know of my involvement in the matter; I'm content to let people think I'm dead and gone."

"Like I said…" The vixen folded her arms. "Stick to the shadows like the phantom you are." She turned her head, glancing over her shoulder but the doorway leading to the ready-room was empty. The doors slid shut on their tracks with a soft hiss. A smirk tugged at the corner of her muzzle. "…Old fool."

* * *

A/N: _DUN dun DUNNN! Did anyone see THAT coming? Or was that just a psychotic figment of Kursed's imagination? Only time will tell! Now StarFox is stranded with a lot of rescued Venom prisoners... What will the team do now? Of course, they could always seperate the cruiser and the carrier section of the GreatFox Flying Fortress, but without the reactor core necessary to MOVE the cruiser section, they would never successfully get the ships back together, and they wouldn't want to abandon the cruiser and leave it adrift... so whoever stays with it would be practically defenseless. So... for now, they're kinda sitting there unable to move. _

_In the next chapter, I want to explore more in depth what Krystal is going through, without her memories. Actually, there's a lot I want to do in upcoming chapters!_

_Thanks for reading! _

_For those of you who keep asking about SPY COOPER, the sequel to Lament of Carmelita, YES I WILL FINISH IT! I promise! But I'm trying to get out a few chapters for THIS STORY and Reflections of FOX, first… I'll return to the Sly Cooper stories around autumn. I promise!_

_Also, I've gotten a lot of positive feedback concerning the mush-factor in my stories. Oh, and by the way, who would like me to elucidate on the background behind Krystal and the 'Ghost of Andross'? If you've played SF:Command, you'll probably remember that Krystal DEFENDS Andross' ideals, when she leads the team to TITANIA, to procure Andross' device. Obviously, Krystal knows SOMETHING about Fox's nemesis that no one else knows… I'm thinking there must have been a point of time where Krystal, after leaving the StarFox team, goes out and runs across Andross, face to face. While he's really old, at that… I mean, Krystal knew a LOT about the 'Andross legacy', and she was pretty quick to defend Andross right to Fox's face. Doesn't that kinda' make you wonder? I'm thinking about exploring that aspect through Kursed. _

_By the way, one of the readers pointed out that by having Kursed lose some of her memories, starting at her capture on KEW, she's now less evil. Correct, but she's also got a reconstructed brain, half of which is plastic. She's, more or less, programmed by Dash to be a sadistic, dark person. He took all the hatred and twisted desires… augmented them and now she's her own monster… it's true, she doesn't obsess over Fox McCloud like she did before… but that doesn't make her any less of a threat. She's been betrayed by _everyone_ and she doesn't trust anybody. That, alone, makes her dangerous. Combine that with her new thirst for power (obtaining the radioactive ore) and relearning how to utilize her over-developed frontal lobe… and you have one heck of a monster on the loose. There's just one catch to this monster… she's physically beautiful and young looking… And her closest ally is taking advantage of the fact that she doesn't remember the last few decades… Oh, no, Kursed is VERY dangerous – I assure you!_

_See you soon!_

_-Kit _


	9. Dangerous Liaison

**A/N:** _I might sling out a quick chapter for my Castlevania story next; not sure yet. I plan to start on Spy Cooper again once autumn is upon us. Just a heads up for everyone!_

* * *

Chapter -9-  
"Dangerous Liaison"

**The stars shimmered in the living room porthole. Marcus turned from the glassy surface** faced his bedroom door then, with a sigh, he approached his den. The fox glanced over his shoulder just as Crimson's visual appeared on a holo-viewer in the corner – another unreported case of 'Phone ESP'. "Hey, Red. You caught me on my way to bed, bro. Can you hit me back in a few hours?"

"Yeah, man. I was just thinking – it sure would be nice to catch up and have a beer again. It's been a while, y'know?"

McCloud offered his friend a grin. "The days of 'Star McCloud', sitting on a dusty sofa and talking about our future dream job… seems like that stuff happened in a past life or something."

A grin touched Crimson's muzzle. O'Donnell's visual fluttered from subspace distortion then cleared. His floating form blurred then the lens on his end of the transmission automatically corrected it until his visual became crisp and sharp. His whiskers twitched. "Before demolishing a Venom battleship, before your coma, before the attack on Corneria, before getting pinned down by snipers on Venom while chasing after Andrew Oikonny… Yeah, those were good times – I'm glad the dream job actually happened… but I miss the old days just the same. By the way, have you heard anything else from or about _Kursed_?"

Marcus shrugged and nodded. "Not directly. I had a dream about her and I can sense that she's still alive. Last night, I dreamt about the break up between her and my father. I saw it as if I was watching through _her_ eyes. It was unnerving."

O'Donnell grimaced. "All right, man. Get some sleep then; take care."

"You too, Red. I know you _really_ wanted to ask me about that thing on the news – the Venom crew captives… I'll explain it later – I just need to sleep first."

Crimson cocked a single eyebrow. "You could tell that from two-thirds of a light year away?"

"Sense it? No. Guess? Yeah, I know you inside and out. …Dork." Marcus grinned lightly then waved. "Have a good one, Red."

O'Donnell quickly replied, "you too, ya' geek-ass pansy." Crimson up-nodded then closed the channel from his end.

The holographic visual in Marcus' room disappeared, leaving the fox alone to the silence of his bedroom. He paused to probe the general area with his mind.

He sensed Fara Phoenix in the next room over, on a conference call with the Phoenix Enterprises' executive board. He moved into the dark bedroom and dropped onto his mattress. He opened his mind further, reaching out to sense his father down on the flight deck. Tired from a long day, Marcus couldn't separate his father's thoughts from the several thousand Imperial soldiers that surrounded him. Just down the hall, Falco was still in an aggressive mood but had calmed a little bit in the last hour. Up on the bridge, he pinpointed his mother, having a conversation with Slippy, Theodore, Lucy, Vivian and the man from Corneria.

His eyes, heavy with the need for slumber, shut upon contact with the bed. He drew in a deep breath and, within seconds, fell asleep. Again, his mind brought images of Kursed – another dream began, showing her past to him. Subconsciously, he recognized their close ties. He killed her and she was reborn through modern medical science. Somewhere, out in the vast darkness of space, Kursed was reflecting on everything and anything that she remembered happening. Marcus found himself dreaming her memories.

_Krystal held the flyer in her paw. It read, '_…The Cornerian Air-Guard. With only six weeks in basic training, you'll have a new life and a new path, serving your homeworld._'_ _Her thumb ran across the leaflet then she folded it in her paw and pushed it into her pocket. _

_"It sounds nice, actually," said Krystal; her voice echoed off of the cavern walls. She walked back to the edge of the cave's entrance and peered down into the clouds, below. _

_"Do you plan on climbing the rest of the way to the palace tonight?" The gentleman behind her wore a suit with a blue tie. He reached a paw to an opal cufflink on his wrist and fidgeted with it then he adjusted a ring on his finger. "My dear, you said you wanted to climb the wall until you reached Krazoa Palace… but with the weather growing dismal, I think you should remain in this cavern until morning." _

_She glanced back at the well dressed man and scrunched her nose. "I certainly don't need _your_ advice. Where were you when I was confused about my relationship? You're a figment of my imagination at the very best. Besides, there is no way you could have gotten up here without climbing gear – just look at your suit! You're not even real." _

_"I'm real," he replied. "I'm here to help. If your future son ever needed help, I'd be there for him, too. And, perhaps, one day I'll make good on that offer." (_Chapter 15, Reflections of a New Generation_) He checked his wrist watch and shrugged somewhat. "You _know_ I'm real – don't be difficult. Are you treating me this way just because of my race or where I'm from?" _

_The lithe blue vixen shook her head. "I'm having a bad day, you weirdo. First of all, the rock statue isn't awake – I need answers from the Krazoa spirits in the palace. So, I'm going there the old fashion way; I don't have a Doppler system – I started climbing because I saw a blue sky as far as the eye could see. How was I supposed to know there would be a storm several hours into my climb? I left Fox with nothing but the clothes on my back. Had I brought an Arwing, I wouldn't be climbing. I told him if he ever changes his mind, the two of us will meet _here_ on Sauria. But now I'm wondering about going into the Cornerian military. Second of all, the fact that you are from planet KEW does _not_ concern me. The fact that you're here to try and look after me _also_ doesn't concern me. I'm angry right now and I don't want to make nice to you, all right?" _

_"Fair enough, Krystal of the Cardinal Sun." _

_She turned around and glared at the man in the dim lighting. "That title died with my planet. There is no 'Cardinal Sun', or any other family clan anymore. I'm sure the Kew were _delighted_ to find out about the destruction of Cerinia." _

_"You're wrong, Krystal. It was a sad loss," he replied. "I'll leave you to your anger, frustrations and your foolish desire to climb a mountainside in poor weather conditions. You're letting your emotions get the best of you. Perhaps you should go back and simply _talk_ to Fox McCloud." He ran fingers through his hair then walked to the back of the cave recessed in the side of the cliff face. _

_"Forget about him! I'm ashamed of myself for the time I invested in that man; just leave me alone." With a shake of her head and a sigh, Krystal checked her climbing gear and took a drink of water from a canteen. She came back to the entrance of the cave and glanced up the flat wall to the palace at the top. "Not much longer to go…" _

_She made her way back to the entrance of the cave, aimed a hook-shot upwards and pulled the trigger. A grappling hook launched up the bumpy vertical sheer, catching on the edge, two hundred meters above. She gave a tug on the cable and grinned. Krystal took the cable tightly in her paws and began struggling up the face of the cliff. _

_She worked into a rhythm, step by step, in vertical ascension but after only a few minutes, the Cliffside began to shake violently. Her eyes widened with the stark realization of her situation. Krystal quickly rappelled back down to the cave entrance. The tremor continued, causing several large boulders to fall from the summit. They streaked by her, causing her heart to jump. The nervous vixen pushed her legs against the wall then swung into the cave and released the line. Without surrender, the earthquake brought more debris from above. _

_The entrance to the cave cracked and she scurried upon hands and knees to get away from the cavern's maw. A loud noise filled her ears. Terrified, she covered her head with her paws and brought her knees up to her chest. Small stones pelted her hip and back; the noise grew louder. _

_All at once, the quake ended. An aftershock tremor tapered off and the surrounding dust thinned out in a short time. Krystal sat up, coughing for a moment or two in the dark. Her eyes adjusted and she glanced around in silence. Her adrenaline began to thin out. _

_A buzzkill junkie sensation struck her stomach and she gagged, dry heaving. Beads of sweat ran down the side of her face and she rolled onto her back, trying to cool down. Overheated from the quick loss of adrenaline, Krystal fanned her face and used the back of her left paw to wipe sweat from her forehead. After the vertigo passed, she reached into her pocket and pulled out an emergency transponder. Her thumb slid across the small object until she felt the panic button beneath her paw padding. She gave it a firm push and a small red LED light illuminated the device. _

"Hey, you awake?" The voice stirred Marcus from his dream. He eased up on one elbow and squinted. "Theodore? Everything okay?"

"Hey, yeah – everything is fine. I just wanted you to know that Fara Phoenix was able to set up a daisy-chain communication grid using the nearby Phoenix Star Liners as comm. buoys. Clever girl, huh? Anyhow, she talked to the board of directors and they've agreed to help transport the Imperial prisoners back to Katina. They'll be processed and held until Corneria can ship'em properly."

Marcus' brain was mush, tired from coming out of REM sleep. "Who's watching them? We need guards."

"Don't worry about it," said Theodore. "Phoenix Enterprises decided to hire some on-call mercenaries to watch the prisoner transfer. Then, we're going to get a tow home so we can get the GreatFox put in for an emergency refit. That means they'll start on the repairs as soon as we get into dry dock. By the way, the press is watching and will probably be in dock, waiting for us to arrive. Be ready to smile and talk – go back to sleep; you'll need the rest before talking to the public."

"Mmhmm," mumbled McCloud. He rolled onto his side and pulled the covers over his head. The dream began again…

_Krystal brought the tracking beacon to her wrist watch and used the dim red light to check time. Ten hours passed since the cave entrance collapsed. It had been more than enough time for Fox McCloud to reach Sauria from any end of Lylat. Frustrated, she began walking the cave walls again, feeling around for something that might help her. In a semi-state of panic, she pounded her dainty fist against the granite wall. "How the hell did that idiot from KEW get in and out of here? It's as though he left me here to die and, yet, he claims he's always watching me… Where are you Fox!" she shouted at the end. _

_Nothing. The deafening sound of silence offered nothing – not even an echo. An aftershock tremor rumbled in the background, causing her heart to pound again. After a moment, the tremor ended. She tried to relax herself, not wanting to pant. Oxygen was growing thin and she knew she had to remain calm. The mountain rumbled again; she refused to give up, following the walls with her palms. _

_The next tremor ended with a violent shake. She pulled the emergency transponder from her pocket and mashed the button again; wishful thinking. In her fear, she grew angrier at her situation. She balled her fists up and shouted, "Why Fox?!" Then, in an attempt to fight her defeatist thoughts, she knelt down and wept, whispering, "Please – I need you _now_ more than ever." Only Sauria replied, offering a loud grumble in the distance. _

_Krystal froze. She sniffled miserably then held her breath and paused. She could sense _something_ out there; she wasn't sure who was nearby. An alien noise filled the small cavern. She could sense danger at the back of the cave; she crawled over towards the blocked front entrance. Fearing for her life but hoping for the best, Krystal sat down with her knees drawn to her torso, her arms around them. _

_"…Fox? Please; is it really you?" A dim orange glow filled the cavern, emanating from the flat wall at the back of the cavern. She found herself breathing hard from excitement and worry, unintentionally breathing all her usable air. The oxygen level thinned quickly and she felt lightheaded. Her eyes felt heavy and her paws trembled. _

_Slowly, Krystal slumped to the left; her muscles ached too much from a lack of oxygen. Dizziness set in. The orange incandescence grew. Was it a rescuer? Why couldn't she sense Fox on the other side of the wall? Worry, panic and balanced out her faith and feelings of hope. She struggled to remain optimistic but, just the same, said a little prayer to the religious icon of Cerinia in hope that something positive would come from all of this. _

_With the air so thin, she slumped further, now lying on her side. Quite suddenly, the back wall burst apart and an orange beam filled the room, striking the pile of rubble behind her. A rather menacing silhouette filled the opening in the wall. Her eyes widened and she gasped for air then whispered, "…You." Krystal's head dropped and the lack of breathable air rendered her unconscious. _

"Marcus?" The question stirred young McCloud from his sleep. He rubbed at his eyes and groaned in reply. The voice came again, keeping him from his dream. "Marcus, it's Fara. I came by to talk and I heard you tossing and turning in here. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just… restless – I'm tired as hell. How are ya' sweetheart?"

Fara patted his forehead then leaned down and kissed his nose. "I'm fine, baby-boy. I'll see you in the morning. I just had a long talk with your mother. I'm sure she'll be fine – she's reading up on her own life in the history books. I'm one of the few people that really identify with her, after waking up and having missed everything in my life. She's really quite curious about the doppelganger, Kursed. Maybe you can fill her in on that later."

"Sure will, sweetheart. I love you." Marcus flopped back in bed, heard her tender-toned reply, which brought a smile to his muzzle, and then he fell back asleep.

_Face to face with an angled surgical mirror designed for lighting – the vixen, roughly in her mid-to-late twenties, sat up on a cot. The field-stretcher creaked beneath her from the shift in weight. Her eyes widened, staring at Andross Oikonny across the small tent. The ceiling was high enough for him to walk around, but lower than a typical building. She lifted the covers she wore and was relieved to find herself fully dressed. Her head canted back to the right, watching the ex-dictator. _

_There he stood, hunched over a workbench, tinkering with something she couldn't see. Her head cut to the left and right, wondering if she could sneak passed him. With any luck, she might make a successful run for the exit. However, he was far too close to the tent opening. Her eyes dropped to the floor for alternative ideas but the canvas walling was tightly pegged to the ground, making it nearly impossible to crawl out _beneath_ the tent walls. _

_Andross didn't bother turning around; he'd heard the squeaky metal rails of the cot. "Don't get all excited… Krystal was it? Yes… I do believe that's your name, dear. You're unable to scan my brain, so you automatically assume the worst of me. Don't. You're Fox McCloud's lover, aren't you?" _

_"No!" She quickly covered her muzzle and blinked in spite of her outburst. "…We parted ways." _

_"Wasn't working out, hmm? The life of a mercenary isn't easy on relationships." Andross abruptly turned towards her. "I don't mean to be presumptuous. And I won't sit here and patronize you with faux apologies. The truth is, Fox McCloud's love life does not concern me and neither does yours."_

_"You're certainly a cold bastard," she mused in a soft tone, gathering her courage. _

"_Forgive me if I come off as aloof or otherwise impassionate, girl. I have more important things to worry upon." He offered a deadpan expression then turned back to his workbench. _

_"Why did you rescue me?" she asked. _

_"It wasn't much of an inconvenience, young lady. I'm here on Sauria trying to utilize Krazoa technology in restoring a small climate-controlled dome on Titania. If I can restore even something the size of a large room then I'll have figured out how to restore the ecosystem and atmosphere of Venom. Not to mention the outrageous acidity level in Venom's waters. The filtration system I developed when I first arrived is aging. It doesn't even provide enough for everyone; the poverty class rations it… water. The freest, simplest mixture of two plain elements. Two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen. It's the building block of life and, because Venom's waters are toxic, the dwindling population that greeted me was consuming the last remaining underground springs Venom had to offer." _

_"You've rehearsed your lies," she replied. _

_"I needed a temporary lab assistant as I lacked four arms; when McCloud didn't show, I chose to rescue you out of my personal convenience. I'll hold you at gunpoint if I must, but require your paws." _

_Krystal grimaced. "What am I about to volunteer myself for, planet killer?" _

_"I didn't destroy Cerinia – the central star went supernova." Andross turned to the right and pointed to a large ovular tube. "That is the delivery system; I plan to use it on Venom but not until it's absolutely _perfect_. I'll keep it hidden on a fairly deserted planet until I've completed it. For now, however, I brought this empty pod to Sauria to begin assembling it. I need another set of hands and I've elected you to do the job. Consider it payback for saving your life – after I've finished, you may leave to do as you wish." _

_Krystal blinked. "I… can't leave; I've no ship. I left Fox with nothing save the clothes upon my back." _

_"How did you get here?" Andross handed her lab gloves and a white knee-length coat. _

_"I stormed into an escape pod on GreatFox and set course for Sauria. How did you know I was trapped?" _

_"We're inside of Krazoa Palace, second floor." Andross waited until she put the gloves and coat on then handed her two beakers. "Keep those steady; I'll be filling them to the lip." He took a glass flask, not unlike a carafe, and began pouring liquid into each container she held. "Anyhow, after the earthquake, I received your distress signal. The computer decoded the encrypted beacon and identified the sender as _you_. I assumed Fox would come and, so, I remained out of sight so as not to jeopardize my work. When he didn't show, I decided to recruit you as a temporary assistant. I don't _care_ what you tell him about this; I'll be gone by the time you run your little tail back to him." _

_Krystal balked. "It's not his business what I'm doing right now and I certainly have no plans to _run back to him_. He and I are not on speaking terms at the moment." _

_"Whatever," replied Andross, adding, "Keep them level – I need an _able_ assistant, not a clumsy one. That's why I didn't hire a reptile from Venom or a Sauria Sharpclaw." _

_"One of your experiments caused Cerinia's star to die; I'll never forgive you for that." _

_"Think what you like," returned the ex-Emperor. "You have no scientific proof, just like your people had no scientific evidence that the star was so close to destroying itself. Do not throw your assumptive allegations at me – I'm far too busy to be concerned." _

_"Again, you're a cold bastard! Millions of people were…" _

_"…Quiet!" Andross narrowed his eyes menacingly then continued to pour the liquid. After both beakers were full, he sneered at her and said, "Those people were fated to die. I created a bioweapon on the surface of Solar; did Lylat die or blow up? Don't be an idiot, girl. It's not my place to mourn your people. They were kind to me and I appreciate their help in the past but their tragedy could have been avoided. I'm here to help Venom avoid a tragic end; I couldn't save your race but I _will _save the reptiles of Venom." _

_"Not that you even _tried_ to save my race." _

_"Was it my place?" Andross snorted. "Your people failed to utilize science. They didn't focus their studies on their sun – who is to say I didn't create a THOUSAND bio weapons on Cerinia's star? Your people surely had no clue as their science community never focused their studies on that – they only cared about exploration beyond the system… Kew, for example. Needless to say, whether or not I created bio weapons on the surface of a sun, Lylat is here and didn't explode – my bio weapon never hurt Solar." _

_"Whatever." Krystal looked down in shame with a sigh. The beaker in her left paw began to change color, while the one in her right paw began to turn clear._

_Andross leaned forward, taking interest in the two containers. "Very… very interesting." _

_The vixen's curiosity got the better of her. "What does it mean?" _

_Oikonny's head lifted, but his eyes remained on the two containers. "It means you're seeing the exact same results as my first test – the acidity levels clear up in a relatively short time. Those were comprised of Venom water samples. The first beaker held a chlorine solution, while the other had a dose of my cure for Venom. I plan to create a way for one container to effect the entire planet all at once. That's my largest impediment." _

_"Okay, you've shown me that you're truly vested in a scientific venture; what must I do to help?" _

_"As I've said, I require another set of able hands. I need someone to run scans and perform preliminary physical checks on tests while I perform secondary and tertiary tests at multiple angles in unison. I believe that a simulated pathological vector might be the answer. Not a microorganism per-say, but something that will spread the whole planet over on contact… without harming a current population. Something akin to terraforming without changing the healthy dynamics already in place." _

_Krystal lifted her head. "You want to cause a dramatic change to everything without evacuating the population. Something safe enough that the changes would happen around them without interfering…" _

_"Quite so, Miss Krystal. Now, young lady, put the beakers on the counter. We have work to do." _

_"Diving in so soon, Emperor Oikonny?" _

_Andross quirked a brow at her. "Indeed." He pointed to the nearby counter then headed for the exit flap of the tent. "I'm no longer a leader – such a title is unnecessary. If you require one, you may refer to me as that which I am… a _doctor_." _

_"I thought you were a madman; a lunatic killer?" She removed the gloves from her paws and pushed them into one of the pockets of her lab coat. She grew quiet and fell into step behind him. _

_"I was immature; an idiot with an education at the most. I was angry. I was jealous, emotional and foolish once. I had a very short-term friendship with a woman who later gave birth to Fox McCloud. I was enamored with her. Her mate was a close friend to someone with whom I could not agree: Sergeant John Pepper. You may know him as 'General' Pepper but… he and I were collogues and we failed at seeing eye-to-eye with one another. My immaturity is in regards to putting emotions before my legacy. My legacy is my work. And I will have you know, my work is all that matters to me in my state of age." _

_"What about your attacks on Corneria and the rest of Lylat? What about your attacks on Sauria and helping General Scales hurt the planet? You allowed him to take spell stones that nearly caused the entire planet to explode! And, since you were alive after all, then what of letting your nephew lead Venom into war against Corneria? Had it not been for the Aparoid invasion, they would have slaughtered one another!" _

_"I need not defend myself to you," said Andross as the two of them walked across the glassy tiled floor of the palace. Another field tent was set up, noisy from multiple generators working to power the scientific gear within. He held the flap open for her and she stepped in first. Doctor Oikonny shook his head. "I was on Sauria trying to harness the power of the spirits and the force point temple to help me in my research. I'm very blunt and if something stands in my way I forcefully push it aside and walk through. I don't expect you to understand and I don't expect you to look at me as anything other than heartless. So long as nothing gets between me and my work, I'm fine to let the galaxy alone. They interfere and _that_ is when I become violet and defensive." _

_"How did you survive, anyhow?" she asked. _

_"That's a story for another day," he replied, motioning for her to enter the second tent. "We have much to do and I wish to finish my work while the evening is still rather young. There has been no sign of the GreatFox anywhere near Sauria – so we're safe to begin working." _

_"I still wish to know why you allowed your nephew to take control of Venom prior to the Aparoid invasion." _

_"I was too injured to concern myself at the time. Don't you remember? You were there when Andrew rejuvenated me in the restoration chamber (A/N: Reflections of the Future)." Andross narrowed his eyes somewhat and tilted his head. "Our small talk has reached its conclusion – it's time to focus on business, dear girl. I've no intention to hurt you unless you're unwilling to cooperate." He lifted a large hand, closed it into a fist, save for his index and middle finger; he used them to point at her then he __motioned to his eyes with those fingers and said, "Focus. We have much to accomplish. Until we're finished here, I require your trust and your aid. Also, I'll need you to accompany me to Titania. From there, I'll drop you off on Corneria at the front door of the military recruitment center." _

_She blinked. "Why would you think I…?" _

_Andross reached for the flyer sticking out of her pocket. He snatched the leaflet and held it up. "We don't have time to talk about this. There is an emergency on Titania. I want to finish this project as it will benefit Venom should our efforts be successful." _

_"What happens if we fail?" _

_"If we fail, it will make the headlines; if we're successful, no one will know they were even in danger." _

_"How many lives?" _

_"A township; approximately twenty-five thousand people. Before you ask – yes, I'm the one who must fix it. One of the bio weapons from my youth did something unexpected. They mutated – their genetic composition mixed with a chemical compound naturally found in the area by means of ingestion. They spontaneously combusted, releasing a toxic agent into the air. Factoring in the jet stream, if this cloud reaches the town, everyone will die. Luckily for us, we have time – you can't kill the two thousand miles of sand between the cloud and the township. Regardless, we must hurry and work through the night. Now – this is the last time I will tell you: Less talking and more working. My munificence only goes so far until my patience wears thin. Follow me." _

_Krystal nodded, although she was still somewhat skeptical. "I never saw you as a philanthropist, _Doctor_ Andross." She fell into step behind him, heading across the second tent and over to the field workstation. _

_"My liberality is misunderstood; I have a sense of disquiet in regards to the lives of many; but if they die I won't mourn them. Their lives are collateral damages but if I'm able to succeed in my work then so much the better – I'll be pleased with any measure of success we might achieve." They stopped in front of a table and Andross took goggles from the wall, passing a pair to her. "Safety is important. One cannot succeed if they, themselves, are careless." He waited until Krystal put them on then donned his own safety goggles and reached for a strangely complex machine sitting on the counter. "Minus the case, this machine is my test delivery robot. It will take our first attempts, in liquid form, to a chamber on the other side of the palace. I've chosen this location because dinosaurs typically avoid this location – it's sacred. They cannot teleport here and unless they're here to battle a threat, they normally won't even go inside. It is, therefore, safe – just in case the worst case scenario occurs, backfires, and a chemical agent gets out. We'll be undisturbed while we work." _

_Krystal nodded and quietly said, "That explains why Kite dropped me off at the palace then abruptly left and why the triceratops had on battle gear, when I came across them." (A/N: Beginning of SF:Adventures) She reached for her tail, placing two fabric scrunchies over the tip. She ran them down, one halfway, and the other to within a third of the hilt. She fluffed the fur starting back by the base of her tailbone then pushed it back, beneath her lab coat. She removed another from her pocket and pulled __her hair back then used another scrunchie to keep it drawn. "Sorry; I'm ready now. Wouldn't want my fur to get in the way or to possibly contaminate…" _

_"Enough," he snapped then cleared his throat. Resuming a relaxed tone, he added, "This experiment will require the both of us working together in unison. I'll explain what I require, let you try in a test trial… then we'll make an attempt, understand?" _

_"Yes, Doctor. I understand." _

* * *

Meanwhile, in orbit above Venom…

**"I remember," said the blue-furred woman**. Kursed cut her gaze away from her bedroom mirror. "We managed to save those people from a horrendous death; none of them ever knew and so you never received kickbacks of any kind." She whirled about and clutched her paws into fists. "I've become a far different woman since then, old man. Not only that, the path I took differs from the path taken by Krystal McCloud. Ironically, the instance that drove us to become so very different… is something I can't fully recall."

"Explain," replied Andross, remaining concise.

"I felt betrayed by Fox McCloud and, later, by Panther Caruso… such is life – not every relationship turns into marital bliss." She crossed the small den, gazing through a porthole on the starboard side of the medium-sized transporter. Her eyes landed on the polar caps at the northern-most part of Venom. "Unlike her, I was bitter and alone for a long time. I heard of a lethal bounty from the Lylat system; he was hiding out on the planet Kew. I decided to chase him down and, in doing so, I came across Fox McCloud again… Yet, he didn't even recognize me. I'd changed _that much_; he didn't even know… even with my fur color, the girl he knew as _Krystal_ never even passed through his mind. I was angry and hurt but I helped him track down the bounty just to be near him… so very foolish of me. Then we were separated and I was captured by a clan of hunters who, many decades ago, tracked down Cerinians. They thought my race was gone and decided to torture me for _fun_. Fox never came after his 'new friend'. No, he took the bounty and left the planet while I was in a torture chamber. I remember they began using some sort of machine to play tricks on my mind. They made me see things and feel pain that wasn't real. They made me remember the hurt and shame I felt regarding my breakup with Fox. After the second torture session, I blacked out. I vaguely remember waking up on the floor of the torture chamber after my second session but… everything after that is _gone_. I remember _nothing_."

"So, without your memories, you do not act as you did when you arrived in this system…" Andross touched his chin. "Very interesting. That means you now have more in common with your doppelganger – you're no longer tainted by countless murders."

Kursed quirked a brow at the ex-dictator. "Memory loss aside, I still have rather dark… shall we say…_ intentions, _urges if you will, compared to the average person. And… I have… _this_." She lifted her right paw and, much to Andross' surprise, a book levitated from the shelf besides the doorway. She narrowed her eyes and the cloth-wrapped tome crossed her small quarters in an instant, striking the 

bulkhead with such force that the object burst into a flutter of pages. An impressive dent marred the metallic wall. "And that wasn't even a _hardback_ novel. If I get irritable, I could have put that paperback publication through a man's skull with ease. Bliss O'Donnell says she _has_ seen me use telekinesis before. She said I pulled a gun from a soldier's hands using nothing but my mind… However, she said I didn't have the power to throw the soldier's entire body into the wall… now I do. I'm not sure why or how. It comes quite natural to me."

Andross Oikonny nodded. "Indeed your evolution is interesting. Have your abilities progressed since you awoke without your memories?"

"Actually, they have," she said. "At first I could only move objects that were not already in motion… but now I can stop an incoming projectile, even ones that are moving at a very high velocity. I'm not sure how, because I can't even see them… but it's as if I know they are there and have control of them the instant I'm aware of their existence."

He offered another nod and said, "Understood. You're absolutely sure O'Donnell does _not_ know I'm aboard?"

Kursed shook her head. "If she knew, she would have made a big deal about it." She approached the aged doctor and reached for his right forearm. She lifted his hand into her palms and said, "Stay out of sight for now." She closed her thumb over the control panel on his wrist then paused. "How long does the battery on your portable cloaking device last?"

"Six to eight hours per charge," he replied. "I wish you to have a conversation with Dash Bowman. I'm glad he brought you back as I'll need your help again."

Kursed glared at him. "I'm not into saving worlds anymore. I don't give a damn about Lylat; they never treated _me_ with any respect. Listen, whatever it is that you need, let's speak upon it _later_ when Bliss is not around." She closed her thumb on the wrist control button. Andross disappeared from her view – a field around his body refracted and redirected natural light around his body until he went from blurry to invisible. As she drew her paw from him, the furry blue appendage reappeared beyond the wrist. "By the way; I've been reading history books over the last few hours and it got me thinking about my past. So, I have a question: Why did you attack Star Fox seven years ago?"

Andross' voice came from thin air. "I'm dying. Of all my scientific ways to cheat death, I never came up with something as simple as a cure to _dying_. I have a very rare form of degenerative cellular… it's not really a disease; it is, however, currently untreatable. I cannot be certain but I hypothesize it's a flaw from genetic mutations I've done on myself. By stopping the process of natural aging, I've screwed up my genetic makeup. My body became young and fit. I remained young and healthy for over a decade. Then, about seven years ago, my body began to fail itself. I thought I was going to die and, strangely, I had the desire to take my enemy to the grave along with me.

"I felt victorious and, in my victory, I found energy again. I found a cure to my problem and I felt immortal again. Then, seven months ago, my body began attacking itself on the cellular level. It was my time to die but I keep fighting it. I'll continue fighting it tooth and nail until the inevitable happens. I refuse to give up so easily. Now I walk with a cane, I struggle breathing on some days and I'm actually growing old again. More quickly than the average person. 

"Maybe you're allergic to Fox McCloud. It sounds like you got sick again after he came back."

"Amusing but no," said Andross. "I'm in the process of properly grooming Dash Bowman to take over my Empire. He doesn't quite realize what's going on, though. I need you to take the reins for him and help. Before I die, I wish to see Corneria humbled as the number 'two' superpower planet in this system. It's already beginning to grow trees, develop a wonderful habitat and fantastic ecosystem but I want it to surpass Corneria in beauty _before_ I die. I originally planned to watch it happen from the sidelines. However, now I don't have the power of immortality."

Kursed folded her arms. "You have an ulterior motive." She rubbed her chin and shook her head. "I can't read your mind but I can sense things about you that I never read before."

"Krystal, I never told you this… but I had diplomatic relationships with KEW long before I learned of Cerinia. It was their technology that made it so your race couldn't scan my thoughts. I tried to implement this into Andrew without him even knowing… but that was long ago. Not only that, it didn't work very well with him – I'm not sure why. Either way, those methods aren't as effective against a superior telepath. The fact that you can even sense I'm standing in the room with you is proof that your abilities have grown with your development of the frontal lobe. The only one capable of being more effective – possibly to the point of reading my very thoughts – is your offspring… should he be properly trained and have a great deal of practice, that is. Unmolded, he's still just a canvas with potential. Krystal, drop me off on Titania – I need to retrieve what remains of my life's work, still hidden on that planet."

"I haven't used the name 'Krystal' in a while, from what I understand. I've become fond of the new nickname I'd chosen for myself… Bliss was kind enough to share it with me. You may call me _Kursed_."

"If that is what you wish," he returned. "Dash has done a fantastic job restoring your body. Nice to stay young, isn't it? I would know – it's quite intoxicating."

"Then figure out a way to cheat death _again_," she said.

"I've tried. My body is attacking itself on the genetic level. DNA is coded to last only two hundred years before breaking down. I've put two hundred years of stress into my body in only seventy-nine years of time."

She paused, walking away from the empty space where he stood. "I'd heard you began doing experiments on yourself at the age of twenty-one. That makes you one hundred years old, hmm?"

"I've always lied about my age – when I was a scientist working on Corneria, I told people I was twenty years younger than my true age. Needless to say, it's all taken its toll on me."

"We'll figure something out and get you to Titania; not because I sympathize for you – I have my _own_ ulterior motives. I believe you're the only man capable of getting me out of this idiotic dimension. I'm _insulted_ that my doppelganger mated with Fox McCloud. It's sinfully idiotic."

"I doubt I could get you home. If anything, you'd wind up in yet another parallel universe – an offshoot different than this one. There is a slim chance you'd return to where you belong but without knowing how many different parallel dimensions we're up against… I could not predict your percentage for success."

"Whatever. For now, stay in the shadows, like the ghost you are." She walked to the doorway and opened it then pointed to the hallway. "And get out of my room. I don't need a voyeur in here with me… out." She heard soft footfalls leading out into the hallway then she nodded to the thin air. "It's a small ship – avoid Bliss O'Donnell old man." She pressed a button on the wall panel and her door slid shut on its tracks.

* * *

**Phone to his right ear, Crimson O'Donnell plugged an index finger into his left** and said, "Yeah, I can hear you now, hon." He listened for a moment then, abruptly, he announced, "Ricotta cheese and double D's? Oh please, don't tease." Seconds later, he said, "That rhymed? Sure, I guess it did," followed by, "Yes, I'm a little _tipsy_. We're celebrating; the squadron ranked second place in the final exam – who'd have thought?" An empty bottle of beer hung loosely from his left paw, wedged between two fingers. With his index still wedged into his ear, the bottle brushed against his shoulder.

On the other end, Clover Sugar's creamy voice filled the phone. She said, "Careful, you've got to drive home tonight. And yes, you told me earlier; I'm very proud of you. By the way, did you ever tell your friend Marcus we started dating?"

Crimson placed his beer bottle on the table then turned away from his classmates and said, "Yeah, I called him earlier and tried to tell him but he's real busy right now. I've not really had much of a chance to talk to him with everything going on… not since the fire, actually. Anyhow, you're right – I'm tipsy and it's probably best that I head back to the dorm. I'll drive slowly, though. By the way, how is it?"

"_Really_ good; I'm surprised. All right," she said to him over the phone. "I'll talk to you soon, sweetheart." She hung up the line, leaving Crimson to stretch and look around at his friends.

"Okay, guys… I've got to get home," he said, looking down at his paw. "Is anyone here sober?" He panned his head from left to right; no one acknowledged his question – they were all drunk. Crimson chortled, mostly to himself, and said, "Who needs a ride home? I'm heading back towards sector-'D' if anyone needs to go that way but, yeah, I've got to roll out. My new girlfriend made lasagna; it's her first time trying to cook and all… She said she decided to try it before calling me home to something that might suck…"

"What's the verdict?" asked one of the pilots.

Crimson offered a half-shrug. "She said it was _really_ good, considering it's her first time trying to make something like this… Needless to say, she's very good at following instructions to the letter. I'm off for good food and, hopefully, afterwards we'll make out." He waved to all his friends, exchanging handshakes with a few of them then he made his way out of the bar, looking down at his paws. "Damn… I'm pretty tipsy." He rubbed the sides of his face then sank into a recently purchased used car. It still had temp tags on the back bumper. With a yawn, he fixed his seat belt and put the car into gear, pulled out of the lot then began driving along a quiet back road, through the campus area.

The back road, void of street lights, required his high beam lights. Several minutes into the drive, he lifted his left paw and rubbed at his eyes. The hybrid wolf shook his head hard then lifted his chin, squinting for a moment. Something shiny caught his attention and he let off the accelerator. Something else flashed up ahead, lasting only a fraction of a second. The inebriate lupine arched his back, craned his neck and furrowed his brows as if trying to see what was going on up the street.

Something struck his car, sounding much like a rock hitting the metal body. Another stark noise hit his car in unison with a tiny flash off in the distance. His eyes widened with realization… bullets. Quickly, he pulled off on the side of the road, turning off his lights. He crawled across the seat and reached for the switch on the dome light above his head. Crimson flipped the switch to 'off' then opened his passenger side door and crawled out. He eased the door shut then put his shoulder up against the siding and pushed hard until it clicked into place. Moving behind the vehicle, the half-breed opened his trunk slightly, pulled out a low-power blaster he often used when going to the shooting range then clicked the power button. He eased the trunk shut and used his weight to force it until he heard a click.

Without thinking further into the matter, he snuck into the wooded area and began creeping up towards whatever was happening in the distance. Another shot rang out. The slight flash down the road came first, followed by a distant popping sound. O'Donnell sighed in frustration.

Drunk on an empty stomach, the alcohol was beginning to hit his system full force. He took a deep breath, wishing he had a plate of pasta in front of him, and then continued on towards the shooters. He moved forward until he was even with a small group of people then he laid down amongst the brush, trying to see what was going on.

"Did you get them?" asked one man.

"After the second shot, they veered off the road!"

The first one groaned. "The lights went out. If you really hit the target, do you think they would have had time to turn off their headlights? Whoever this person is, they're still out there. Hunt'em down and kill them!"

"You really don't know who you're messing with," said another person.

"Quiet!" shouted the second speaker.

"Wait," said the first, lifting a hand. "I smell… _alcohol_." He paused, sniffed at the wind then said, "It's faint but it must be close."

"Closer than you think!" A volley of poorly placed blaster fire lanced through the area. One of them struck the first speaker in the face. "That's for shooting at my new car, dammit!" Another bright beam lanced through the shoulder of the second speaker, knocking him to the ground with incredible force. Crimson shouted at the top of his lungs, a drunken war cry meant to intimidate, disorient and startle the attackers. A third one came from off to the left and struck Crimson on the back of his head with the butt of a rifle.

With the alcohol now hitting his system full force, the drunken wolf simply winced from the strike to his head. He whirled around and landed a punch on a shadowy face then shot the attacker with his blaster pistol. "That HURT, you idiot!" He pulled the trigger again, shooting the man laid out in the middle of the road.

"Cease fire!" shouted someone. Before O'Donnell could ask, they identified themselves in a loud, clear tone. "I'm General William Gray – stand down, son!"

Gray froze. His eyes widened, afraid of getting expelled for obvious public drunkenness. He glanced back down towards his car and swallowed. "General? I, uh… are you okay?"

Gray stood up from the pavement and quirked a brow. His ears flickered. "I recognize your voice." He pulled a keychain from his pocket with a penlight on the ring then flashed it in Crimson's face. "…O'Donnell? _You_ are my rescuer?" He blinked, catching a whiff of alcohol. "Are… you drunk? Was that your car up there?"

"Sir, I…" Two distant shots rang out. "Crap! Trees, let's go!" He gave Bill a shove and they both retreated for the woods along the side of the road. Two more shots rang out, one of which hissed by in close proximity. "Go, go, go! Don't stop!"

"Get down in the ditch and stay quiet," Gray said. "We'll crawl out of here if we have to! They're covert ops and they came after me and Fay. She got away and…" Gray stopped once they were hidden in the thick brush. "Are you _bleeding_?"

"Uh, no?" Crimson patted his paws over his body to check himself then felt something wet on his arm. "Oh, shit…" He felt the lump on his arm, beneath the wetness. "Oh that mother f-…" He trailed off, angrily. "It doesn't hurt so maybe I'm all right. Let's keep moving."

"Alcohol and adrenaline, young man. Of course you don't feel anything," replied Gray, keeping his voice low. "But it's a bad mix; your blood is thinner right now. Stay focused; let's try and get to your car. We'll drive back the other direction."

"You let them get the drop on you?" asked O'Donnell. "Why didn't the base security team keep this from happening?"

Gray put his paw over O'Donnell's muzzle and, quietly, said, "They're trained operatives. The question is… how they got into the atmosphere without being seen… It was an assassination attempt, courtesy of my old pal, Dash Bowman. I'm glad Fay got away but if she has even a single scratch on her… It's not going to be pretty for these guys."

"I'm pardoned, just this once, for drinking while driving on base… right? I mean, I saved your life and all."

"That's not important right now," said Bill in a stern voice. "Keep quiet and let's try to outsmart our attacker… and, yes, you have a flesh wound."

Crimson looked down and blinked, not having realized that Bill had rolled up the wolf's sleeve and began prodding the wound. O'Donnell jerked his arm away and said, "I'm fine, man. It's a long crawl back to the car and we…" Two more shots rang out, passing through leaves and brush. Brush, twigs and sticks cracked as another bullet flew through the area, forcing them both to keep their heads low. "I hope Marcus was right about you, old timer. Let's move."

"Right about _me_? Just get moving, kid." Frustrated, Bill followed Crimson through the wooded area, parallel to the street. "I keep up with people half my age – when I was called in to be acting General," he grunted every so often as they crawled together. "…I decided to take physical training very serious again. I think those men were here to do something other than just kill _me_. I get the feeling I was a secondary target."

"What the hell? A _secondary_ target?" Crimson grunted, working through the brush.

"They happened across me, recognized me and engaged." He pushed another low branch aside and muttered, still climbing through the dirt. "Fay and I were out touring the base when we saw something suspicious. It's difficult to explain without going into classified intelligence."

"In a long-story-short sort of way, does it have anything to do with the battleship and StarFox?" Crimson paused, lifted his head and squinted. He saw nothing in the dark. "Either this '_agent_' is deaf, they can't hit a slow-moving target or their orders changed abruptly."

"Yes, it has everything to do with the battleship and with _your_ big mouth, it's a wonder we've not been killed by that gunner." Bill Gray sighed then motioned for Crimson to take point. Bill gasped, emitting a muffled yelp.

Crimson looked around but he didn't see Bill. He rose to his knees and saw something through the nearby trees then crept towards the road. Several feet away, on the shoulder, there were three lizards, a medium-built ape and William Gray, suspended by his neck. The ape turned to Crimson and offered a Cheshire grin.

O'Donnell glanced from left to right then stepped out of the trees, casually easing his paws up into the air, keeping them outstretched to the left and right. "Okay, guys… y'all win." He tightened his jaw a bit then, rather suddenly, sneezed.

"Bless you," said Dash Bowman, keeping Gray in his right hand, a blaster to the General's head in his right. His leering eyes unnerved the hybrid wolf fox.

"Don't mind me," said Crimson. "I'm allergic to Imperial scum. So, how'd you get through the line undetected and why would you come here in person? Aren't leaders supposed to hide out in a bunker so they don't die? If we turned the tide on you and killed you, the war would be over, right?"

"Shut up," said Bowman, adding, "First of all, you wouldn't be able to kill me. Second of all, O'Donnell, your father is in my employ again and so I would spare you… perhaps I might sell you to him, but just the same… I wouldn't kill you unless in self defense. The General, here, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I couldn't resist." He pushed the barrel of his gun against Gray's temple then said, "StarFox destroyed my battleship. I'm not happy about that – it was my distraction and my meeting point. However, all is not lost! I've got what I came for and it's time to leave already. General Gray is my insurance policy. He saved my life a few years ago, so I'm going to be a man of honor and save his today… then we'll be even."

"I'm just …honored as can be," said Gray with a grunt.

Bowman snorted in semi-amusement. "General, I'm going to let you know what it's like to be my grandfather. I'm going to put you in an escape capsule, without food or bathroom facilities… I'm going to jettison you from my drop-ship and let you pray someone comes to your rescue. Now you have something to look forward to." Dash directed his tone to his men. "All right boys! Let's move to the extraction point. We're running out of time and I want to get those reverse polarity spell stones back to the lab before daybreak." He turned his attention back to Crimson and grinned. "Sayonara, O'Donnell. I'll tell Wolf you behaved yourself in my presence."

One of the soldiers drew a stunner, pointed it at Crimson with a record-time draw and opened fire. The beam struck Red in the torso, knocking him from his feet. Red's body toppled backwards, into the bushes. His lower torso and legs were visible in the grass, there on the side of the road.

Dash turned his attention to Gray and smirked. "He'll wake up, call his little friends and tell them what I've done… then StarFox will _rush_ to Venom so they can recover the stolen Spell Stones… but guess what? Crimson, Marcus and the rest of them… have no idea about the little surprise I'll have waiting for them. I'd surely like to see how the GreatFox will fair against a fully functional Corebase… and that's not even the real 'surprise'. You'll find out about _that_ soon enough, General." Dash used his gun barrel, poking Gray in the side of the face with it. "Move, old man. I'm finished on this planet. I have places to go and things to blow up."

* * *

A/N: _Dun dun dunnn! Okay, so Dash now has the spell stones! STOELZ! OMF WTG! BBQ! !1!ONE!!1! Needless to say, with StarFox distracted and stranded, Bowman made the right move at the right time. _

_Catch you guys later, I'm off to work more… wah. Lol. Now to work on chapter 10. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter… now we all know a little more about the interaction between Krystal and Andross; we also know that Andross is, in fact, very alive. See? I told you guys I would NEVER personally KILL a canon character, including Andross. So, if I won't KILL him then how, you might ask, will I have the team triumph over him? _

_Let's see… I could either have him fully recover and come back… which seems cliché but not if I do it in an unconventional way… OR… I can have him do what Fara did… go into hiding for a few decades, lol. I've not decided yet… maybe I WILL kill him, because he's already SUPPOSED to be dead. Again, I've not yet decided. Catch you guys on the flip side; keep it real!_

_-KIT_


	10. The Kew

A/N: _WOW. This new thing FanFiction is doing with tracking the visitor / reader's country by IP address is fantastic. I can now see where readers are from and how many individuals are hitting my stories and such. How fantastic is that? So, I would like to thank these readers by country. That's right, I'm going to take a minute to tick off the visiting countries that have read Reflections of Marcus McCloud this month, so far. Why? Because I appreciate it! France, Peru, India, Italy, Germany, Venezuela, Vietnam, South Africa, Chile, Russia, South Korea, Finland, Spain, Belgium, Greece, The Netherlands, and Romania, thank you guys for the one, two or three readers from each of those countries. Next, I'd like to thank the several readers each… from Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, Sweden and Singapore. Each of those countries has about four readers a piece. Over ten from Puerto Rico, over twenty from Australia, over thirty from the United Kingdom, almost fifty from Canada and, of course, the most from the United States just because we're awesomely nerdy about Star Fox… over six hundred and sixty readers from the USA put one thousand seven hundred sixty-eight hits on Reflections of Marcus McCloud since I updated chapter NINE a few weeks ago. Keep in mind, I think this tracking thing started around July 27__th__ or so. Rawr. You guys humble me. People from TWENTY-EIGHT COUNTRIES are reading this story? It just floors me. I'd say, though, about fifteen of those countries have reoccurring readers, which is what my main fan base must consist of... I APPRECIATE IT! And for you other thirteen countries who only read a chapter or two… I hope you come back.  
__:D _

_Thanks again!  
__-K_

* * *

Chapter -10-  
"_The Kew_"

**Kursed sauntered across the cargo deck**, passed the man with the blue tie, and stopped with her back to him. She faced the multiple rows of cargo containers along the starboard bulkhead. "I've not seen _you_ in ages," she murmured, eyes narrow. "What brings you here? And where the hell were you when those hunters came for me? It was _your_ planet, after all. …Your _turf_."

"_So it's_ _true_… you _are _from an alternative dimension. Very interesting… I cannot defend my own alternative twin in the matter – perhaps there were enough differences between myself and him that he was not truly involved in watching you." He folded his arms and turned to face her backside. "In _this_ 'universe' – if you will call it such – our planet is torn; we get along on a diplomatic level but the nations south of the equator sometimes hunt telepathic races. Now that Cerinia is gone, they've become very relaxed. What can I say? They're religious zealots, Krystal…" He paused then said, "So, doppelganger, aren't you calling yourself something far different now? Kursed was it? At any rate, _my_ people typically do not interfere. I had no idea they would, for lack of a better term, 'mind-rape' you into believing you had a _need_ for vengeance. Either way, _my_ side has been 'watching' your doppelganger's son with great interest, especially since he took you down on Fichina last year. You were quite a dark person when you first arrived in this dimension."

She tightened her fists, took a slow breath then rolled her eyes. "_Your_ side sounds very much like _my_ side; two planetary nations at odds with one another. Same damn Kew. And yet, you come together just fine when it concerns hunting down races like my own," she said, adding, "You make a very _good_ 'watcher'; you sure had no problems just _watching_ while I suffered on Kew; I waited to see if you would come and help me – you never did. I passed out during a torture session and woke up in Lylat… decades older. From what I'm able to recall, this all happened _yesterday_. Obviously you never did more than simply _watch_ me get kicked around. _So… it's true_ then," she mused, somewhat mocking the way he said those same words a moment prior. "I _was_ turned into something twisted – why didn't they just kill me?"

He looked away. "As I said, I wasn't in attendance – I'm not sure if my doppelganger was… Unfortunately, there is no way for me to be sure," he explained with a sigh. The man shook his head slowly. "I don't know what to tell you in regards to Kew. However, the reason they didn't kill you? I don't know; things didn't happen like that in this universe. When the Kew found out that a Cerinian was alive in Lylat, they sent me to assess the situation because I already met you in the past. They didn't send hunters – Krystal was never considered a threat."

"Am I a threat?" she smirked. "Are you trying to form a theory as to why I was attacked and why Krystal was _not_ attacked by Kew headhunters?"

"She's still a pure girl. When a telepath turns aggressive, combined with exceptional use of their abilities… they are nearly unstoppable. Few clairvoyant persons have ever become dangerous enough for us to hunt. We simply capture and kill; we never torture our prey. I'm not sure why it happened to you on the other side of the wormhole. I… apologize for the gross misconduct of my world's alternative twin."

"Fair enough – how did I wind up here? Theorize _that_."

He rolled his shoulders in a light shrug and said, "I'm assuming you somehow escaped from planet Kew and your captors. I can only imagine what you did in order to exact your revenge on them… I wish you could remember – I'm curious to know if you destroyed Kew in that universe… the same way you allegedly destroyed Sauria and Fichina, which you _boasted_ about, upon your arrival in this universe, prior to losing your memories. I imagine Lylat is very different now, in that dimension. Two destroyed planets would throw an entire solar system out of balance and into chaos."

"I can't be concerned with things I do not remember right now," she returned in a sharp tone. "So, why are you here?"

"Several reasons," he said in a diplomatic voice. "First of all, I wanted to know the truth – whether or not you really are Krystal McCloud from an alternative reality. My curiosity has been sated. Second of all, I wanted to visit the both of you in order to determine why you've lost your memory and to see if she's lost hers as well. I want to compare notes – see if you both lose memories starting on the same date, or if she has somehow gained yours or some such. When I leave, I'll find Krystal McCloud from _this_ dimension and tell her I spoke to you but only if I feel the timing is right.

"Finally, Kursed, I have to assess how much of a threat you are to other interplanetary systems. I converted archived files from the remains of your ship; it broke up when you came through to this side. From what I've read, you were on the warpath, using your telepathic abilities to crush entire armies. If you live up to those standards, the knights of Kew will come for your head… you twisted _shell_ of a vixen."

Her eyes narrowed and she folded her arms across her chest just beneath the swell of her torso. "Stupid 'watcher'. Your race consists of hunters and voyeurs so far as I am concerned. Half of you are murders while the other half watch those atrocities and do nothing. Half of your race harbor fugitives and scum. When I became a bounty hunter, I traveled to Kew and tracked down an interstellar criminal. I recall Fox McCloud showed up, looking for the same dirt bag. Funny; I remember quite vividly how those hunters waited until McCloud was leaving to try and nab me. I fought them tooth and nail. So, were you watching when it happened?"

"You of all people know that planet Kew hosts two fully separate, unique and individual sentient races. _My_ people are not nearly as aggressive as those who hunt down clairvoyant species, the likes of you. Also, I cannot answer your question – I don't know if my doppelganger watched. Did you want an _apology_? I've already offered one, earlier in our conversation but I don't think it will do any good, as I don't know the situation Kew was faced with on your side."

"Shut up; get out of my sight, old man." She lifted her arm and pointed towards the airlock on the far end of the cargo deck. "I hope I regain my memories – with any luck, the first one I remember is in regards to destroying Kew on that side."

"You'll see me again in due time." He snorted in disdain and crossed the containment deck, disappearing into the next bay.

* * *

**Marcus sat up with a start**, his heart pounding and his eyes wide. He'd tried taking a nap so as to be at his best but after two and a half days of intense dreams, he was wearing thin. His mind reached out instinctively then he gasped in surprise and relief. His mother was in a chair on the other side of the bedroom. "Hey… mom, I didn't expect you. Sorry I'm all wound up; intense dream."

She cleared her throat. His mother offered a light smile then asked, "What was it about?"

He quirked his brow at her, still dismayed that she would have to learn how to utilize her abilities all over again. "Well, tonight I dreamt what Kursed must have gone through while fleeing Kew in her universe. She escaped captivity and stomped those hunters into the ground. She has very violent tendencies. Also, last night I dreamed about something you were forced to go through and… trust me, mom. Be glad you don't have your memories. There were a few of them that …weren't all that great, you know?" He shuddered at the memory of Andross.

Krystal offered a respectful nod. "I'm sorry it frustrates you, sweetheart. I wish I could empathize better but it's as though I've lost the knowledge reaped from my schooling sessions – from what I know about our race, I _shouldn't_ have lost my _abilities_. If anything, I should _not_ have retained names _either_ but I can't complain - it _is _a start. I may not have any actual recollections but at least I remember who people are… I'm glad I know who my husband is and remember my love for him, even if I don't recall the day-to-day details."

"I'm not sure why you lost your abilities, mom." Marcus' eyes wondered away from her, moving towards a nearby porthole. "I figured out my mental faculties without formal training. Do you remember _any_ of your school-hood lessons?"

"I do – leading up until I received my staff. But the training and the lessons aren't helping me right now. I shouldn't have lost my aptitude; I feel defenseless… incomplete. I woke up without memories, in an older body, with two-thirds of my life gone. I don't really have my individuality – I feel as though I'm without an identity. It's very much like… you know…?" A delicate frown marred her blue-furred muzzle. "I've been struggling with my sense of self."

"I hope you get everything back," he replied in a soft voice. "I've finally reached puberty age for a Cerinian. But now that I'm developing my abilities naturally, I lack the schooling to utilize it. It's really frustrating when trying to use my mind to its full capability – I need my telepathy to keep my team alive. It's a birthright, not a privilege or prerogative."

"We're lost together," she said, leaning out of the chair to reach for him. The two hugged for a few moments, remaining silent. After a short time, the heartfelt embrace of mother and son concluded. "If anything, we'll help one another through this, Marcus. I looked up some information on amnesia and in almost all cases people eventually get their memories back, either little by little or all at once. Also, I read that your father kept his team alive _without_ our abilities – he had a simple motto. Do you know it?"

"Peppy used to drill it into my brain," said Marcus. "Never give up; follow your instincts."

"Do your best, Marcus. I've faith in you – you've lasted this long and, from what I've read on the history archive… you did it without anyone's help from the age of sixteen onwards. I'm proud of you. I honestly wish I could remember everything. The details make us who we are, you know?"

He offered his mother a nod then, in a softer tone, said, "Maybe things like this happen for some sort of reason – something no one can explain. At least you've not forgotten _everything_."

"If I had, our culture would have been lost. Luckily for our kind, Cerinia is _all_ I remember. Although, it's not like I didn't learn _anything_. I remember some of my schooling lessons but I've lost my lifetime experiences where I put those lessons to good use. Teaching something that I learned in a classroom but never really made use of… that's difficult."

"No less difficult than asking a classmate to be your tutor, knowing that the only difference between you and her is that you slept during class and she listened to the lecture."

"I suppose you make a good point," said Krystal, adding, "I feel like a teenager again, save for the lack of energy I'm used to having… or, I should say… the energy I _remember_ having. Maybe we should sit down and I'll go over some of the things I recall from my lessons. It feels like I was just in class only a few days ago, as a sixteen year old."

"In Cornerian rotations, at sixteen, you're almost twenty-one years of age. Maybe we could sit down and analyze your lessons together and teach ourselves as a team. All we have to do is meditate and focus our abilities based on what you've taken notes on, back in your classroom… just recite it from memory as best you can."

"Fair enough. We'll learn together, then. Let's start with exercises to give our frontal lobe a workout. That's what my class trainer liked to do. I'll explain how to do that and we'll go from there. …I hope it all comes back to me and I regain some of my abilities… I want the chance to link minds with you and learn more about myself as a mother, you know? Not to mention linking with my husband and discovering more about myself as a wife. That's important to me."

"I can understand that," he replied with a firm nod. The two foxes sat down on his floor, side by side. They joined paws and closed their eyes…

* * *

_Twenty-four hours later_…

**Venom troops continued** in a straight line, funneled through the hallway of light. The force field emitters hummed softly, holding the energy barriers in place. Krystal, Marcus, Fara, Fox and Falco worked together to keep the line moving with the help of men hired by Phoenix Enterprises. With all the hustle and bustle of a ship-to-ship transfer, everyone was on guard with their weapons ready.

From the shadows, a small group of Imperial lizards kept low, watching as their comrades filtered off the GreatFox flight deck. They whispered amongst themselves, waiting for an opportunity to turn their situation around. The leader of the group murmured to his men, "Keep your minds empty and your bodies relaxed. Remember, two of them are telepathic – same as the Empress." He turned about and did a quick headcount on his assembled triage. All of them were elite men typically utilized for storming enemy ships. Six in all, they remained crouched behind a machine filled with fuel cells.

"We're without weapons; what's our plan, sir?" asked one of the men. His brown-scaled nostrils flared up, sniffing with disdain.

"We take the two females as hostage," replied the leader. His amber eyes narrowed to vertical slits. "From there, we demand terms. Weapons, safe passage back to Venom and their leader as a hostage for insurance. We'll put one of the McCloud males into a Venom prison and see how _he_ likes being _our_ guest. Although, I'm also considering another angle – we take the two telepaths and leave the other vixen. Hmm…" He rubbed his claws against the bottom of his jaw in thought then shook his head. "For now, let's concentrate on the two female foxes."

"I've got the fennec," said another man.

"The blue one with the bushy tail is _mine_," said a third. They grew silent, watching as the last of the Imperial crew was offloaded to a Phoenix star liner. Once the flight deck bay doors shut and the force fields were dropped, they began to move, creeping along the back wall.

The group of six split into a team of four and a pair of two. One approached Fara from behind and struck the back of her head with excessive force. To his surprise, the resilient fennec remained conscious. However, with Fara's body in such a state of shock, her motor skills failed, leaving her temporarily rendered immobile. He locked one of her arms behind her back, slid his wrist beneath her underarm then beneath her chin. He placed his other hand against her hip, his claws tightly mashed against her waist. "If you move I'll gouge your kidney, little girl."

Meanwhile, his partner moved in unison, striking Krystal in a similar manner. She became limp in his grasp, struggling to breathe from his well-placed hit against the backside of her lungs. Flailing, Krystal's legs quickly cramped up, wind knocked out of her chest.

"Don't move!" shouted the leader of the pack. "My men are trained in how to kill swiftly. We're not asking much – simply safe passage back to Venom! Our terms are non-negotiable and we expect you to comply."

"Fara!" Marcus balled his paws into fists, immediately aggravated that he was unable to sense their hostile presence ahead of time. "You guys had better _not _make a mistake because if you do, I'll rip your heads right off your shoulders and…"

"Quiet!" exclaimed the lead lizard. He approached Falco Lombardi and extended his hand, palm up. "You, bird, give me your pistol. …And don't lie; I know you have one. I'm very observant."

Falco, nearly shaking with bottled adrenaline, drew his blaster slowly. He took it by the barrel and turned it over to the head reptile. Without warning, the lizard jerked his arm upwards so that the butt of the weapon caught Lombardi against the bottom of his beak. Falco, off balance, collided with Fox.

The lizard charged forward, shouldering both men to the floor. He twirled the blaster in an elegant manner then pointed it at them. "Stay there."

"I recognize this one!" said one of the lizards, previously silent up until now. He approached Marcus and pointed a clawed finger in the fox's face. "This is the one who stormed one of our ships less than a year ago. He and that bird caused our ship to crash into the defense array. Oh, yes, I remember _very_ well… (A/N: _Reflections of a New Generation – Chapter 23_)"

"Then that proves it," said the reptile with Falco's handgun. "That Cornerian fox is the group leader. He'll be our insurance policy. Then, instead of throwing him into a Venom prison, we'll simply kill him." He turned directly to Marcus and said, "But as long as you don't cause any trouble, we'll let your friends live. I'm a man of my word. I'll kill you for destroying our flagship last year and for destroying our new battleship yesterday… but I _will_ let your friends and family go free. So tell me now… are you going to give me trouble? Should I kill all of you this very instant, or are you going to go peacefully? Tell me now; either way it's _your_ funeral."

"Just get on with your moment of glory. You'd better hurry, though, before the spotlight goes dim."

"Go ahead and play your mind games," replied the lizard with a smirk. "I'm keeping you alive until we're on Venom. Your friends won't resist us using you as insurance because if they do…" He turned his attention to the entire group and raised his voice, "You'll _all_ die and we'll simply take your ship back to Venom without your help! Understood?"

"Good luck," said Fox through clinched teeth, seething at the way they were treating his wife. "There's no reactor core – this ship isn't going _anywhere_ unless it's _tugged there_ by a Phoenix star liner. So _now_ what's your great plan?"

"Quiet, old man. Your days of being a hero are long passed. Talk to me with respect or I'll take out my agitation on your vixen," said the group leader, pointing his gun at Krystal, still limp in the other reptile's grasp. "Yes, I know exactly who you are, team StarFox. It makes no difference to me that you're Fox McCloud. It makes no difference that you defeated my ancestors, the Aparoids, the Anglars or anyone else for that matter. You're a washed up, feeble old man. And, if you care even one iota about your wife, you'll keep your muzzle shut and do as we tell you to do. Is that _clear_? I'm speaking in _your_ language, McCloud, so I _know_ you understand me. I didn't stammer and I'm clearly stating my intentions and my demands. One more outburst and I'll take off her right arm. If you keep acting up, I'll take her left one. I'll keep going until you're ready to play nice. Do I have your attention, Fox McClown?"

Fox narrowed his gaze. "Fox _McClown_… Gee, I haven't heard that one in a while… The last guy to use it on me was dead shortly after he said it. Same with the guy before him. You're not superstitious are you?"

"I'll call you whatever I want, vulpine. Now, everyone get on the floor, arms outstretched and legs parted as wide as you can. Make like a snow-angel or I'll make your lives miserable." He waited until Falco, Fox and Marcus stretched out on the floor then he turned to Krystal and took her jaw in his hand. "I see you've regained your breath, woman. I have respect for you; I actually serve Empress Kursed and I'm fanatically loyal. I know what you're probably capable of, so let me tell you right now… if you do anything I don't like… I'll take a pint of blood out of your husband. If you talk back to me, I'll take a pint from your son. And I'm methodical, too. I'll carve a line right into their flesh and make them suffer while you watch. Are we clear?"

Krystal nodded in silence.

"We never expected you to destroy our ship," said the lizard, eyes narrow. "The original plan was to go into battle, fool your sensors and make believe that we were rendered helpless. Then, when you guys board our ship, we were going to capture you and turn the tide of events. Empress Kursed trained several of us on how to combat you telepathic types and wouldn't you know it? We were successful. Here's something _else_ you might not have known… Even as we speak, this very instant, a small group of our men have infiltrated Corneria. They've captured the spell stones used by Kursed and they're bringing those stones back to Venom."

Falco tensed up, angrier than ever.

The head reptile noticed Lombardi's body language and approached the avian. He knelt down besides Falco's head and said, "Does that make you mad, birdie? Why is that? Did you work real hard to get those stones to Corneria? That's too bad, old man. They're back where they belong… in Venom hands. Now calm down before I _hurt_ one of these females. Understand?"

"Bite me," muttered Lombardi, still on his stomach.

The lizard stood up and smiled. "My name is First Lieutenant Kyong Adler." He offered a smirk to the struggling fennec then leaned down by Fox and said, "I believe some of you may have met my father before. Fox McCloud, you were obsessed with Andross Oikonny because you believe he was responsible for the death of your father… Well, let me tell you, Mister McCloud… I _know_ you were responsible for the death of _mine_. So, believe me when I tell you that it will give me _great_ pleasure in killing your _son_ upon arrival to Venom." He stood up and lifted his voice. "But rejoice! He'll be giving his life so that the _rest_ of you worthless fools may live! I'm a man of my word and, if you all behave, everyone but the boy goes home to live another day. Now is the time to be selfish and think about your own lives. Don't try to be a hero or _all_ of you will die on the spot. AM I CLEAR?" No one spoke. Adler smiled and simply said, "Very good. All of you may address me as Kyong. If there are any issues, bring them to my attention, please. I'll be a good party host, so long as everyone follows my rules. Now, let's go up to the bridge and have the rest of your crew surrender without incident."

"I have one question," said Fox from where he lay on the floor. "Adler was older than me and I'm a grandfather… how in the hell are you so young but you're only his son? I killed him _years_ ago, man to man, in a _war_. He made it personal; I just finished it once and for all."

Kyong glanced over his shoulder at Fox and said, "That's why I'm not killing you right now. You simply bested him in a combat environment. But you didn't kill him directly, like you thought. You defeated him man to man but he _did_ live. However, he succumbed to the severity of his injuries a decade later. He was subject to the inability to fight on a battlefield and, so, he became a pilot. During the initial fight against Corneria, led by Andrew Oikonny (A/N: _Level one – SF: Assault_), my father was the copilot of Andrew Oikonny's flagship. He was at the controls when the ship transformed into that robotic head and arms. He wouldn't have been there if he was able to stand without a cane. Wrong place at the wrong time – you trashed that ship and he was killed in action several minutes before an Aparoid finished off Oikonny's machine. I was seven years old. Now I'm barely thirty-one."

"I hate to sound cliché," muttered Fara Phoenix. She cleared her throat and said, "But I might as well warn you now… you're never going to get away with this. I knew your old man, too… You can blame Slippy Toad and myself for him having that crooked left eye… One of his _failed_ missions, trying to kidnap me on a Phoenix star liner. Did he ever tell you about his many _failures_? Most of his missions ended up in shambles, after all."

"Shut her up," said Kyong. The man holding Fara took his clawed hand from her hip and forced two fingers into the fennec's mouth. He pressed his sharp claws against her tongue and nodded to his boss. Adler approached the struggling vixen and said, "If you speak to me just _one more time_, I'll have him cut out your precious pink tongue and feed it to your _boyfriend_." He turned to Marcus and smiled. "Yes, I read the tabloids… I know about you two lovebirds. So, who's going to be stupid and get these girls killed? Hmm? Who wants to end the lives of tweedle-dumb and tweedle-dumber? Any takers?" Silence. Adler grinned. "Excellent. Let's go visit your bridge, so we can speak to the remainder of your gallant crew. Then, we'll figure out this tiny little situation involving your lack of propulsion."

* * *

Thirty-six hours later…

**GreatFox settled on its belly in the hot sands of Titania. **A cloud of dirt rose up around the enormous flying fortress. The Imperial tugboat, half the size of the cruiser-section, pulled away and lifted vertically. It turned about and disappeared in the clouds. Onboard, Adler paced the flight deck, in front of the StarFox crew. They were lined up on the edge of the main bay, including ROB.

One of the lizards handed his leader a small flat plastic panel with an illuminated screen. Quietly, he told Adler, "It's confirmed, sir. The Empress' tracking beacon shows that she _is _in fact on this planet, possibly waiting for us to show up."

The head reptile turned back towards his prisoners. "Now, everyone here has behaved," said Kyong in an authoritative manner. "Everyone here has earned the right to walk away from this. I'll most likely be snagging a ride from Empress Kursed who is waiting here for me. She said I'm allowed to kill Marcus McCloud, so long as I _bring_ her _Krystal McCloud_." He immediately noticed Fox's angry expression. "Oh! I guess I neglected to mention _that_ part of the deal, didn't I? So sorry, Fox! It must have slipped my mind!" He snatched Marcus by the shirt collar and put the gun to Krystal's head. "You two, we're going to march out into the heat without incident. Is that understood? The Empress is here, waiting for us."

Marcus and Krystal began walking. They made their way down the gangplank and into the hot sand. Marcus glanced over his shoulder, watching his agitated father up on the flight deck. A force field flickered to life, surrounding the remaining members of StarFox. Slippy, Theodore, Lucy and her daughter, Falco, Fara, Fox and even ROB stood there unable to go anywhere. Adler's men marched down the gangplank and followed the two Cerinian foxes out into the desert sands. Further out, a ship uncloaked in the distance just beyond the imprisoned team's line of sight.

Kyong Adler took Marcus and Krystal up to the aft section then folded his arms. The drop door hatch slowly opened, groaning on its metallic hinges. The hydraulic cylinders vented hot steam then two women emerged into the sunlight.

Bliss O'Donnell glanced from Krystal to Marcus, threw her paws up into the air and said, "What are these two idiots doing here? We're supposed to be rescuing Carey!"

"All in due time," said Kursed with a subtle smile. She approached her doppelganger, circled the older-looking woman then turned to Marcus. "Long time no see, _son_. How do I look?"

He glared at her but was unable to deny that she was attractively youthful in appearance. "What's this whole thing about? You went through all of this just to get _my_ attention? You told me to _kill you_; I did as you asked. Are you holding a grudge?"

"From what I see," she began, holding her paws up to peruse her painted claws, "You didn't do a very good job," replied Kursed with a smirk. "I'm still here, aren't I? I plan to return to my home universe… Star, was it? But, first, I thought it might be amusing to kill the last remaining Cerinians in this dimension. Then, with Bliss' help, I'll reunite her with Carey Granton. And, to answer your question, I _can't_ hold a grudge against you – I only _just_ read about your assassination attempt on me from the news archives. I don't recall a thing about that day, my dear boy."

Kyong approached his Empress from the left side. "Bowman was successful, just as you planned."

Kursed turned to him, eyed the reptile then paused to read his mind. After a moment she tilted her head, unsure as to why she couldn't sense his thoughts. "In the past few days, I lost some of my most recent memories… I read in my log that I planned on meeting you here and I'm pleased that you were successful in your mission… but I need you to tell me what's going on in regards to Mister Bowman."

Adler eyed her suspiciously for a moment then said, "He stole the reverse-polarity spellstones from Corneria once their attention was directed to a Venom battleship decoy. They came over to this universe with you, used as batteries to power your ship… upon crossing over through the wormhole, their polarity reversed, forcing your ship to come apart. As it turns out, they became extremely powerful once their polarity was changed. You wanted them back so you could use them as a weapon."

"And why am I unable to read your thoughts?" she asked.

"You taught me how to keep my mind closed," he explained, nodding to Marcus and Krystal, "so that we would be undetectable to these two, my liege. What _do_ you remember?"

Kursed deadpanned with a sigh of frustration. "I'm on planet Kew, several decades ago… struggling to remain conscious during a torture session. A group of religious zealots were forcing me to relive a painful memory – shame, loss and heartbreak. Suddenly I'm here with the physical appearance of a teenager. I applaud your loyalty to me. I'll need you to stay near until my memories return, since you seem trustworthy. But before that happens, I need you to do me a favor. What was your name?"

"Kyong Adler."

Marcus cut his gaze to his mother and interjected his thoughts into her mind. '_That's strange… you lost your memories, too. However, you seem to remember just about everyone's name. She doesn't even remember the name of her most loyal servants. Not only that, her memory loss seems to date back to a point in time long AFTER the Anglar invasion._'

Krystal sniffed and lowered her eyes to the hot, dry sand. She closed her eyes, her tail twitched and she folded her paws together. "Why would you want to kill off your own race in a dimension you don't even belong to? We're one in the same, you and I. There's no reason we shouldn't be able to understand one another."

"By the _goddess_, you're annoying," said Kursed with a smirk. She turned to Adler and said, "Kill them both. Change of plan, march them back to their ship and make their crew watch. I promised Miss O'Donnell that I would help her find Doctor Granton. Once these two are dead, destroy their ship and everyone aboard. I want you and your men to take their fighters and meet me back on Venom. I'll come up with some way to reward your loyalty, Kyong." She abruptly backhanded Krystal to the dirt. Kursed glared at the doe-eyed vixen then nodded to Bliss. "Let's go. Our job here is finished."

"That's it?" exclaimed Bliss. "We just came here to meet up with your buddy, slap your twin and leave? What a waste of time!"

Kursed grinned at her then, halfway up the ramp, she glanced over her shoulder. The blue-furred vixen scanned the horizon in silence. She knew Doctor Andross was out there in the heat. She promised to drop him off on Titania and she made good on her part of the bargain. She couldn't see him but quickly reminded herself that he was cloaked. After a moment, she turned back to Bliss and said, "I have my reasons for meeting here, sweetheart. Don't concern yourself with these fools. We're off to find Carey. Let's go." The two women entered the ship and the ramp retracted with a soft hum.

Adler led Marcus and Krystal away from the ship so that it could take off, then he said, "Let's head back – the six of us want to have a little fun with you two before we kill you and your crew. Move your tails."

* * *

**"This is friggin' bull,**" muttered Falco, trailing a talon along the force field, inches above the deck. Sparks showered the metallic ground. He pivoted on his heel than began pacing. Halfway down the deck, he shoved by Slippy.

Amanda quickly grasped the back of Falco's shirt and said, "Stop starting drama – or _I'll_ put you in your place."

"Amanda, it's fine, r-r-really. He's just…"

She lifted her webbed hand, gesturing to her husband for quiet. "No, he always does this. He picks on you because he's got the 'tall guy complex' and I'm sick of it. We don't need that kind of degrading attitude in a time like this! It's bad for morale!"

"Give me a break, sister," said Falco with a groan. "The force field walls are barely five feet apart – we're held up here in a row. It's not like I shoved him _into_ the field, I just needed to get by, away from all of you guys so I could have a breather."

"All of you," the voice belonged to Lucy, "Stop arguing and relax. ROB is here and he's trying to connect to the network to hack in and break the force field. Give him time and we'll all be out."

Theodore took his hat off and balled up the brim with a sigh. "This is a level _three_ force field, ultra security – the same we used on the Imperial detainees. ROB won't be able to get a signal through."

"That is, so far, correct," replied ROB, adding, "I'm trying to find a frequency on a tight-band channel with an encrypted data burst that will be able to go through the field. Stand by." He immediately grew quiet.

"What makes _him_ so goddamn smart?" muttered Falco.

"Unlike you, I didn't fail the _Turing test_," said ROB in a digitized version of sarcasm. Falco said something back but this time ROB remained unresponsive, focusing his attentiveness on the computational issue at hand.

Vivian cleared her throat, gaining the crew's attention. "Are there any access panels in the floor here?"

"I wish," replied Slippy with a shake of his head. "I have an idea, though. But it will leave us with a handicap in the long run."

"Well don't just stand there, frogface!" Falco whirled around towards Slippy but caught a glare from Amanda. His face softened and he asked, "What's thee, uh, idea or do we have to play charades?"

"We utilize the circuitry in ROB's torso, after removing his memory chips and wrapping them in electromagnetic shielding paper, which we'll get from his head unit. Then we'll rewire him so that he'll emit an electromagnetic pulse. The EMP flash short circuits the control panel but leaves ROB otherwise crippled until we can rebuild him. It also disables our only viable means of transportation we have available right now… Our fighters, the Landmaster Tank and Marcus' motorcycle – all of them would be unable to power up. Although, I must admit, his bike is useless in all this sand right now, anyhow. Without ROB, we have no ship, no propulsion, no pilot and no _think-tank_."

"But we have our freedom and we can arm ourselves," said Falco. "All right, let's ask ROB. He's the computer, he'll know the best percentage of success for us – ask him, man."

ROB turned his head towards Falco and said, "That's the smartest thing you've said, possibly ever." He turned his attention towards Slippy and frowned. "At the expense of my use… StarFox, as a team, are more able to overcome enemies – the likeliness of Kyong Adler's return is in the ninety percentile – they would not have put you behind a force field in this manner if they didn't plan on returning. It's obvious they want GreatFox secured so that when they return they'll be able to operate from this location or something similar. An ambush would almost guarantee you the upper hand. Shut me down and proceed with Slippy's plan."

Vivian stuffed her paws into the pockets of her overalls. "Or they put us in this force field just to be vindictive, after they spent a day in it."

Slippy and Theodore approached ROB on either side and opened his torso cover. Lucy approached him and eased up on her tippy toes. She kissed the side of his metallic face and smiled somewhat sadly. "Your sacrifice is noble. I won't let anything happen to your memory modules, ROB. I'll keep them safe with me, I promise."

"I trust my memories in _your_ capable paws, Lucy… er, I mean… I… thank you for your kindness."

"Okay, I'm pulling the switch now," said Slippy, reaching for the nape of ROB's neck.

"Wait." The voice was calm and deep, coming from somewhere outside of the field. The entire crew turned to face a smoothly blue-furred man with a fancy suit, dark navy colored tie and brilliant eyes. He wore a top hat, had a cane over his wrist and dazzling cufflinks. "Don't be foolish. You'll need his help later on – we all will. Remain inside of this faux prison – it'll be part of the ambush. If they don't see you lined up between these glowing walls when they return, they'll know something is amiss and immediately kill their hostages. The death of Marcus and Krystal _cannot_ happen, no matter what."

Fara, who was quiet leading up until now, politely inquired, "Who are you?"

Fox, who was sitting on the floor at the far end, looked up and gasped. "Are you from Cerinia?" he asked, noting the bluish tinted fur.

"No. I'm from a planet known as Kew," replied the man. "My name, Miss Phoenix, is not important at this time. I want all of you to remain as you are for the time being. Leave these men to me. They're trained and ready – if they return to find that they cannot see the force field at the edge of the flight deck, which happens to be visible for quite a ways out… then they _will_ kill Marcus and Krystal. Their death is unacceptable. We'll do it _my_ way – I need the lot of you to remain where you are, as you are. Do not take down the force field, please." He cleared his throat and said, "I'm going to step back into the shadows for now – they will most likely be back _long before_ nightfall."

"Get ready, they're coming _now_!" said Vivian.

"Speak of the devil," replied Slippy. He turned and said, "Go and hide, or whatever! The gun closet's code is… hey, where'd he go?"

"Who cares!" said Falco. "We wasted all our time talking to that guy, now we don't have time to set up the ambush! Dammit!"

"Stop grousing," Fox snapped. "That's an order… old man." He offered a smirk and stood up. "Everyone relax. I've got a gut feeling here… just stay calm, people." He folded his arms, turning his attention to the distant group of dots out in the sand. "They're armed."

"How can you tell?" asked Slippy, squinting through the glowing field. "You can see'em that far away?"

With a sullen nod, Fox frowned in an almost defeatist way. "…Ohh yeah," he said, drawing out the words. "They're _heavily_ armed. They have Marcus and Krys… at gunpoint." His jaw tightened somewhat then he added, "That's my family down there… I don't like feeling powerless… I always knew someone, some day, would use them against me – I hate when…" He turned and looked at Fara.

The fennec folded her arms and glared at him. "You've not put a single team member to their death; you're not as cursed as the McCloud name used to suggest. Calm down and for heaven's sake, relax your body." She approached the older vulpine pilot and snatched his left wrist. His gloved white paw trembled from bottled adrenaline. "Shh," she whispered. "Venom's elite men have only been training as long as Dash or Andrew has been funding it… which isn't very long. Just stay focused, okay?"

The group turned about, watching eight bodies trudge through the hot Titanian sand. Six militant looking reptile Imperials and two foxes, blue and gray-furred respectively – they approached the GreatFox loading ramp then ascended it. The lizards and their hostages approached the force field. One of the men separated from his group. He un-holstered a personal defense blaster, about the size of a submachine gun but with a shorter barrel. The man cleared his throat.

"Fox McCloud and Fara Phoenix," he said with a brilliant smile. "Sorry I kept you waiting," he mused in a chiding tone. "My crew was subject to waiting without proper food and lavatory facilities –after that short wait, your people and my people are _not_ even, are we? Now, allow me to change subject; I wanted to show you that I've not hurt anyone yet…" He panned his scaly hand from left to right, motioning to Krystal and Marcus. "Here they are – they're still alive. As you can see, they were well behaved and, so, they're unscathed. I see you're right where I left you and, because you and your team stayed put like I asked, everyone is still alive. See? I'm a man of my word."

"Kyong, right?" asked Fara. "Listen, we can't offer you amnesty, immunity or parity, but we _can_ turn the other cheek. You _really_ don't want any of us holding a grudge against you. With your father, it turned personal… Are you really sure you want to do this, pal?"

Adler waved his free hand in a dismissive fashion. "Shut up, Cornerian." He held his blaster in a menacing fashion, off to the side. "All eight of you," he paused, glancing towards Krystal and Marcus. "…All _ten_ of you are now prisoners of Imperial Venom. Your droid will be scraped and your ship will be recycled for its metal-worth. There's just one little problem… Imperial Venom only holds prisoners who have actual political value. The ten of you are completely worthless to me." He put the short barrel of his weapon against Krystal's cheek and said, "Everyone turn around. Follow orders or things will get even messier than they already are."

Everyone faced a row of fighters at the far end of the flight deck. Adler silently motioned to his men, keeping his own gun against Krystal's softly-furred muzzle. The other five lizards took aim, targeting the back of each pilot's head. Kyong cleared his throat and announced, "I'm going to lower the force field – don't move." He signaled to his mean to get ready. They all squeezed the triggers of their weapons, causing a noiseless particle buildup at the barrel of their weapons. A smile tugged at Kyong Adler's scaly maw, pleased to avenge his father against the _entire_ StarFox team. "Oh, and Fox McCloud… tell James I said…" Quite suddenly, he found himself unable to finish his sentence.

Adler's eyes widened and he glanced to the right, his eyes tracing the Imperial uniform along his arm until he located the awkward tingling sensation… A resounding thump filled the large bay, his blaster discharged from where it lay on the deck, sending a beam out into a random direction. The energy round struck a bulkhead to the left of the main bay doors. He jerked the flat stump of his forearm back, gawking at it in disbelief. Cauterized at the wrist, foul smelling smoke emanated from the charred flesh and the gnarled powdery lump of his wrist bone. He glared at the stumpy bone jutting from the center of the handless flesh-mass.

In the time it took for Kyong to lift his eyes, he noted that his men were dropping where they stood. Five more weapon discharges brought about a round of flickering ears from most of the assembled pilots. The charged beam shots struck the force field, which absorbed the energy attack. In Adler's other hand, he dropped the remote control for the force field. It struck the deck with a metallic clang; he reached for his smoldering forearm, still unable to gasp from his state of shock. His lower jaw quivered in horror.

Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He lifted his head just in time to see a blunt object catch him across the face. Kyong Adler flipped backwards, head over heels and landed atop of a dead Venom soldier. He lay on the body, motionless. Standing over the defeated reptile, the Kew Watcher with the blue tie smiled and adjusted his suit so that it was wrinkle-free. He placed his walking cane against the flight deck then knelt, retrieving the remote control box for the force field. He handed it to Marcus and smiled. "I'm glad to see you're wearing that," he said, motioning to the tiny gem inside the pendant worn by young McCloud. "Be glad Kursed lost her memories or you would both be dead already. Until we meet again…" Then, to Fox, he said, "You've done a good job providing for this family. They'll live to fight another day, as will you all." He turned from the group and walked down the gangplank.

With a slight grin, he added, "I'm not allowed to get completely involved – I'm just a watcher. However, I refuse to allow the complete eradication of Cerinia's survivors… I shouldn't have intervened, though." He nodded to them then tilted his head a bit. "I have to meet someone from _my_ past, Krystal and Marcus… Kew is in great danger after a natural cataclysm destroyed our ecosystem. I'm afraid I must part ways with you now and meet with someone special – ironically, their twisted genius is Kew's only hope for survival. Don't follow me – just know I'm around… I'll be watching you both for a long, long time." He stepped out into the sand, hooked his cane over his right wrist and reached to adjust his left cufflink. Then, just as mysteriously as he had come, he rounded the corner, disappearing from their line of sight.

Marcus tossed the control box to his mother and dashed down the ramp. By the time he made it to the sand, the man from Kew was gone. He couldn't sense any presence, nor could he find any pock marks in the loose sand. He clinched his paws and re-ascended the gangplank with a sigh. The force field dissipated and, with a forlorn tone, he announced, "He's disappeared. I don't even see traces of footprints in the sand. …Dammit, there's so much I wanted to ask him."

* * *

**A/N:** _YAY INTREAGUE AND MYSTERY AND STUFF! _

_Again, thanks for reading, everyone! I'm going to TRY and roll out a quick chapter for Castlevania: Claws of Fate, then I'll do a few more for this story. Next month, when Fall begins, I'll get back to Spy Cooper! Sucker Punch said they would return to the Sly Cooper franchise after Infamous was out and on the shelf, so they're probably at the drawing board now… I was hoping to have learned something about the new direction of Sly Cooper and Carmelita Fox so I could incorporate it into Spy Cooper, but… I don't see that happening any time soon. Sucker Punch has kept a tight lid on everything concerning their drawing board. So I'm just going to suck it up and go back to Spy Cooper in September, as I have lots of people asking for me to finish the story. I don't want to disappoint them, after all. _

_Anyhow, see you again soon when I get Chapter 11 finished. Take care!_

_-Kit_


	11. Detour

A/N: _After MANY rewrites, changes and disposable drafts, outtakes, etc... I've decided I'm simply NOT going to be happy with this chapter. It's not BAD, it's just NOT good. It needed something that I couldn't give it and the direction it goes in, near the end... I'm still feeling that it's a weak idea. I want to figure out a good way to tie it all in, so.. yeah. Needless to say, Chapter 12 will be much better because I feel I'm finally getting to something interesting by the time this chapter ends. Anyhow, I do give you readers ONE little treat... I added some romance between Fox and Krystal, which people seem to like a lot. After all, any chapter that has Fox'n'Krystal lovin' usually gets way more hits on the counter. The same amount of tracked visitors suddenly read a romance chapter 3 or 4 times? So, it must be something people like. _

_Okay, so I've been busy as crap lately, trying to tie up loose ends, get a new job, clean up around the house, get ready for the holidays, spend some time with a girl I've been dating and, generally, work enough odd jobs to make the ends meet in regards to my bills. BLAH. Don't grow up, gang. It sucks! Okay, my PS2 is still broke so for those of you who are waiting for me to resume my Sly Cooper story: SPY COOPER, I do apologize. It won't be long, I assure you. I've got to re-read the story before I go and work on it again but it will happen soon; I'm just hammering out two chapters of THIS story before I go and devote a little time to that one. Okay, it's time to delve more into the storyline involving Marcus. Krystal wants her memory back and her family is willing to do whatever it takes to help her. But this will involve a detour from their other obligations, which include repairs to GreatFox, figuring out how to stop Dash Bowman and Kursed… getting Fara back to start teaching again… the list goes on and on. Let's see how that plays out, hmm?_

_Now that I finished chapter 11, despite how much I dislike it in whole, I'll be getting ready to start on chapter 12. For some reason, I have this gut feeling I'm going to like that one. I dunno why. Just a gut feeling that it'll turn out better. See you soon and thanks for reading!  
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Chapter -11-  
"Detour"

**Voices, muffled and unintelligible, **held a conversation beyond comprehension. A gray room with a plain wooden table stretched out before the hybrid fox-wolf. His head lifted; a small security camera, hanging in the corner above the entrance, whirred softly. With no swivel motion, Crimson deduced the sound came from a zooming lens.

The door opened and his eyes dropped to a canine in full dress uniform. The brass plate on his chest read, 'Pepper' and he had a decorated collection of rectangular ribbons opposite of his name. He sat down at the table, facing Crimson and folded his paws. His proud posture and elegant body language was put into perspective by offering a relaxed smile. "Do you know who I am?"

"You're younger than I realized," said O'Donnell. "You're… what? Mid-thirties?"

"I'll take that as a compliment," said the man. "I'll be forty years old next month. I'm the youngest of three and the current youngest general in Corneria's military. I worked hard to earn these two stars and I'll work hard to receive more in the future. Do you have any military goals, Mister O'Donnell?"

"My academy record speaks for itself but my intentions…" Crimson trailed off with a shrug. "I belong to a mercenary team. I'm on hiatus while I finish my education."

He nodded in reply to the hybrid's statement and said, "I'm familiar with Star Fox. I've seen all their current pilots come through the academy. Theodore and Vivian graduated before we moved to a new location and Marcus was quiet, reserved and showed undeniable promise. I don't think he put his full talent into his schooling. His potential far exceeds what he allows people to see; it's a public front, more or less. He's gifted and will out fly, out fight and out think his parents. Not yet, of course… but one day. He also doesn't have the hang up over virtue that his parents struggle with, however he's an honorable young man and he only trusts people who are worthy of trusting."

Crimson furrowed a brow, turned off by hearing such over-the-top praise. "Sorry man, he's taken; cute girl named 'Fara Phoenix'. You don't have a chance, pal."

Jack Pepper remained stoic for a moment then chuckled. "Anyhow, Marcus and I trust one another. I also know Fox and Krystal. There is no denying it; Marcus has great parents and outstanding values in life. He's good-natured, quick to help people and he's widely accepted by the public for a good reason. On the other hand," Pepper continued, "Your father is a scoundrel, once held the title of 'public enemy number one' for a short period of time, and your father isn't well respected by the public."

Crimson grew defensive. "But he's also responsible for helping to stop the Aparoid invasion, he pushed back the Anglars and quietly rescued a Prime Minister of this planet when the guy had an assassination hit put on him by Andrew Oikonny (in _Reflections of Krystal_)."

Pepper nodded. "In exchange for a full pardon, only to receive a bounty on his head for other things in the future. By the time the Anglar race invaded, Wolf's bounty was worth a couple million credits."

"Okay, so my best friend has a great reputation and wonderful parents, but I don't. So-freakin'-what?"

"Jack Pepper," said the canine, offering his paw to Crimson. Reluctantly, the hybrid took the offered paw for a quick shake. "And I'm trying to point something out to you, Mister O'Donnell. You're treated one way based off of how people look at you… why? Because your father was known for his reputation. That's why you're here in this room, young man. You were found unconscious by the military police. Your car has bullet holes and blaster marks. Your blood level, when we found you, was barely under the legal alcohol limit yet you were out there for quite some time. I don't think you passed out, though."

"The new character marks on my car speak for themselves," replied Red with his typical matter-of-fact tone. "So I was hauled in here because the people who found me thought I was up to no good?"

"Before you get even _more_ defensive," said Jack, "I want to explain why I said all those positive things about Marcus McCloud…" He leaned back in his chair, his eyes wondering over Crimson, sizing up the young man. "If a well respected hero of the people, who just _happens_ to be _telepathic_, calls you his _best_ friend…" Jack tilted his head a bit. "That really says something. People don't do the math in your favor very often… I understand the mentality of bias people, Mister O'Donnell, but I _do_ math before I act. I like to know what I'm talking about and I hate feeling like an idiot. So, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt by taking your side of things. If Marcus McCloud calls you his _best_ friend then he respects you and trusts you. If he trusts you, I trust you."

"What's going on?" asked Red, adding, "I don't even know my side of things. I know what happened last night, though. I came across Marcus' old roommate, William Grey. Dash Bowman came here in _person_ and attacked. He said something about having what he came for and had to add to his list of things to do when he came across Grey. I was on my way home when one of Bowman's men shot my car. It was meant to be a kill shot but I got lucky. Then, when he realized who I was, he said he was going to spare me but he was taking Grey prisoner."

"Then you were rendered unconscious," said Pepper. "Struck in the back of the head?"

"Not sure," returned O'Donnell. "I think he might have used a stun blaster but I don't remember. Why do you think I was hit from behind?"

"Feel the back of your head," said the hound with a slight shrug. "If you _were_ stunned, you fell on a rock. Don't worry, though. You'll be fine. Also, this didn't happen last night. It was night _before_ last. Your vehicle was found the next morning and was impounded. The next day, a sergeant was out jogging and saw your legs sticking out of the bushes. That's a long time to be unconscious, without food or water."

"I'm fine," said the boy with a shrug. "Just a little hungry." He reached behind his head, feeling the lump on the back of his scalp. "Before me, who was the last person to see Will Grey?"

"His girlfriend, Fay," replied the canine. "She was present when Bowman's men attacked. With his help, she escaped them and he forced them to chase after _him_. This happened two miles from where you were found. That just tells me that he gave'em one hell of a good run by foot. How did they finally catch him?"

Crimson's eyes dropped to the table. "I was an idiot. I started an argument with him while we were crawling away and they found us."

Jack shook his head. "Hearing your voice wasn't necessary. They carry portable scanners capable of tracking a person's bio-signature through thick foliage. It was just a coincidence you raised your voice, leading up to that moment."

"I didn't notice any scanner gear," said Crimson, adding, "He led'em two miles through the trees in an attempt to give'em the slip? He was probably hoping that Fay would have alerted the authorities while he slowed'em down long enough for help to arrive. In fact, I don't think they were there for him, initially. Dash said something about stealing something from the base. He mentioned that coming across William Grey was a bonus."

"That's essentially correct." Jack Pepper shifted his weight and said, "Listen, some people think you might have been in on it. Others think that you only survived because you were in league with Bowman… that Venom left you on base to act as an informant."

"I was drunk, remember? I went the back way to avoid a sobriety checkpoint!"

The hound lifted both his paws. "Don't get so defensive. Remember, I'm on your side, Mister O'Donnell. Like I said, you're best friends with a telepath who is revered as a hero of Corneria. If he trusts you… it's because you're trustworthy. I think Bowman spared you because he doesn't want Wolf O'Donnell to make life difficult for him. I think he actually _fears_ your father. I also think he may have planted a transmitter on you… at least I did think that at first… but we put you through a full scan and you checked out."

Crimson shifted his eyes to the far left, glaring at a nearby wall. "Yeah, I noticed I'm sitting here in a hospital issue gei, freezing my tail off."

"You're freezing because you have a fever. That came from sleeping out in the woods for two days, dehydrated," explained Pepper. "I've released your car from the MP impound lot and I have your clothes in a bag, freshly laundered. I figured if our scanners couldn't find any transponders in your clothing… that a transponder wouldn't stand up to the rinse and spin cycle. Now, at least, we can be sure Venom hasn't bugged you."

Crimson lifted a paw to his forehead and sighed. "That's a long time to be out. I'm sure Sugar was worried."

"Ah, your roommate, Clover Sugar," said Jack. "She was the first person to visit you in the hospital after we found you. You came out of your coma while she was there but remained unconscious."

O'Donnell quirked his brows. "Coma? And incidentally, how does one come out of a coma but remain unconscious? How would you be able to tell?"

"During certain comas, the brain functionality is reduced. She stayed for two hours and at some point before she left, our records indicate that you began dreaming, thereby proving to us that you came out of your coma; yes, you were in one. We found you very dehydrated between the alcohol, the lack of water in your system coupled with not drinking anything for two days."

The boy sighed. "I'm embarrassed. Drunk and unconscious for two days, huh? I don't even want to know what I looked like when they found me but I can just imagine it… My blood thinned out, my head banged up, blood coming from my arm. And what's worse, being out that long after drinking, I'm sure I reeked of urine – embarrassing."

"That's another thing," Pepper mused. "The flesh wound you sustained on your arm… we found that bullet in a tree trunk because we followed your splattered blood to recreate the occurrence. The round struck your arm and disappeared in a tree. There was a good amount of blood loss, so consider yourself lucky. We cleaned you up, curious to see if you'd wake up. The injury on the back of your head was far worse than anything else you'd sustained. In fact, you're on watch for seventy-two hours."

"…Neat. So am I under arrest? What am I doing here?"

"Debriefing, young man." Jack Pepper unfolded then refolded his paws on the table. "I wanted to rule out suspects behind the disappearance of Bill Grey. In my opinion you're not a suspect, Mister O'Donnell."

"Thanks… So, you're the acting leader in his absence?"

"No," replied Pepper. "There's another person above me. Her name is General Roland and she has a very logical, battle intuitive mind. She's rated higher on computerized strategy virtual tests than anyone since the test's inception, ten years ago."

"Then why did they pull Grey out of retirement to take over, last year?" Crimson rubbed the bottom of his chin.

"Raw experience."

"And you?"

Pepper shrugged slightly. "I work my way through the ranks the old fashion way. Roland was my drill instructor when I was a recruit. She was five ranks ahead of me, now she's just one rank ahead of me; see what I mean about moving up quickly? I work hard for that. I'll continue to do so, that's for sure. For now, though, I'm going to have the guard escort you back to your room. Not the one here, son… the one at the dorm. It'll raise fewer suspicions. Don't tell anyone what you've seen or heard, however. Not even your girlfriend. If you want to talk to Marcus about it, you'll have to do it in person; the communication's grid isn't completely secure."

O'Donnell folded his arms. "If the military couldn't guard those stones why not hire yourself some telepathic mercenaries to get'em back for you?"

"They're ship is in the middle of getting a refit at this time," explained the hound. "We'll eyeball it from here; it's possible that we may employ Star Fox in the near future for just such a task. A lot has happened for your team while you were down and out."

"In the mean time, I'll pull some sources and see if I can learn anything about the whereabouts of Bowman."

"Probably back on Venom, or on his new Corebase."

Crimson blinked. "Corebase, huh?" He paused, trying to recall if Dash mentioned anything about it. He couldn't be sure, though. "Some of the details from that night are still a little fuzzy. I remember him mentioning something about his ship that Marcus apparently jacked up."

"It's on long range sensors in orbit above Venom at this time. We assume he is there right now."

The hybrid stood up and stretched. "All right, get me out of here so I can go see my girl back at the dorm."

* * *

_The next morning…_

**A silky-furred blue paw eased forward, **gently taking the man's own. Krystal McCloud offered the Kew watcher a soft smile then, to show her gratitude, she leaned up and kissed the side of his face. "You were very thoughtful to come back and speak to me. I appreciate your insight and advice, as well. But I have some questions, if they're not too… inappropriate."

He gave her paw a soft squeeze, relinquished the touch then smoothed out his navy-colored tie. "Anything you wish to ask, please do so." He lowered his head somewhat after the offered kiss upon his cheek. Typically, Cerinian folks avoided his kind. The watcher community spied on them to ensure that the clairvoyant species wasn't using their abilities for inappropriate activities. He'd never really been given the chance to truly get to know his appointed subject until she'd moved to Lylat. Now, he'd watched her grow up, have a family and help save lives. He'd mourned her when Star Fox was thought to be dead for six years. The kiss on his cheek caused him to blush beneath his fur.

"My question," she said in a soft, demure voice. "…It's a very simple question," she added then trailed off. Krystal licked her lips pensively then asked, "You watched me, so you would know better than me: what was I like as a wife? As a lover to my husband?"

"I…" He glanced away to remain stoic. This was awkward at best. "You're a very passionate and emotion-driven woman; you follow your heart before you follow your better judgment. We thought you would become very dangerous to yourself if you focused your energy on something less logical or motive driven than your heart…" He drew in a deep breath, let it out and faced her directly. "Krystal, you focused your heart on your husband and your instincts as a mother. At first, your mate was reserved, shy and unsure about love. He'd lost his first serious mate in action and blamed himself. He distanced himself from love and affection so as not to let himself feel that pain again. He'd already lost his mother then his father and, finally, the love of his youth.

"When he fell in love with you, Mrs. McCloud, you were open minded but he wouldn't open up. Even with your telepathic prowess, he was too nervous to be romantic. However, you ultimately wore him down and he proposed." The man gave a quick tug at his trousers then settled on a chair across from her bed. "Star Fox decreased in numbers until it was only the two of you. A mission caused you to narrowly avoid death and Fox didn't know how to react. Out of fear for your safety, he ushered you off the team but you couldn't understand why. You felt as though you disappointed him with your performance during the mission and when he kicked you off the team, you took it personally. The relationship ended abruptly and you left the engagement ring on his cockpit seat in a small box then disappeared from him. Ultimately, you dated one of his personal enemies but hid the relationship from him. In fact, he had no clue because you asked old mutual friends not to tell him; you didn't want it rubbed in his face."

Krystal, horrified, continued to listen to his story. The man folded his paws and said, "When Fox sought out your love, he proved himself by renouncing his team, his heritage and his status as a hero of Lylat. He retired. With his life savings, the two of you ran off to get married. You were pregnant in under a year. After Marcus 'Star' McCloud was born, something in your body chemistry changed… you were maternal and scheduled and educational for your son but soon developed a newly discovered and newly reborn passion for fighting the 'good fight'. You and Fox revamped the Great Fox flying fortress, a combination of the carrier ship and the cruiser ship… you raised your little boy but led a double life as a mercenary. During your marriage, after the baby began schooling… your role as a wife became intensely passionate as your husband finally came out of his shell."

The blue-furred vixen nodded. "And if I still had my abilities, I could link with Fox's mind and regain some of my times with him. You said it might spark my own memories and help them to return?"

"Indeed. A Cerinian handbook on your transport shuttle would help you relearn your most basic abilities, such as joining your mind to another."

"But I read that it was lost when the second generation of GreatFox was slammed into the Aparoid home world. The data bank of that transporter was the last thing to ever come from Cerinia and it's lost forever, now."

He lowered his left paw beneath his right wrist and adjusted a cufflink. "Kursed never lost her transporter. Instead, she added to it until it was a small warship. She powered it on the force point spell stones from Sauria and, when she arrived in this dimension, they reversed in polarity. Instead of holding her ship together as they did with the planet, the reverse-polarity stones pushed her ship apart. Pieces of it litter Lylat. The front end, complete with computers, landed on Macbeth in the dust-desert of Nuremburg. Because the dusty valley is between two warring cities controlled by mafia families, it was never located. With the data on thos computers, you would be able to reteach yourself the basic abilities necessary to link with Fox McCloud. That may jog your memory enough to regain everything."

She nodded emphatically and headed for the door of her quarters. Krystal stopped and glanced over her shoulder at him. "And Fox reciprocated my passion during our marriage?"

"He learned to open up," said the man. "Yes, he was very intimate with you; your role as a wife was one you enjoyed with him very deeply."

"Perhaps that will jog my memory, but I'll consider hunting for that part of Kursed's ship. Besides, it might have more than just data on Cerinia – it might have her ship logs and such. That would help us to know more about her and her abilities."

"Indeed."

"Do you think I'm too old to be flirting with my mate?" Her expression belied a lightheartedness to her inquiry but part of her was curious for advice.

"You're only forty-eight," said the gentleman. "No watcher has ever developed a friendship with his subject…" He took another slow, deep breath and said, "My name is Darius Tyger Vai. I would hope that you keep such between the two of us. Please, don't take advantage of my trust. My kind lives a very, _very_ long life and I would have no qualms about doing what is necessary to protect myself." He stood up, walked to the door, passed her and headed for the flight deck. "Good day, Mrs. McCloud. No one needs must know that we spoke."

…Minutes later, Krystal located her husband in the ready room office adjacent to the bridge. She stepped in through the small door, turned and locked it then sauntered over to her mate at the desk. Without a word, she cupped either side of Fox McCloud's face and pressed her lips against his in a suggestively passionate manner.

After a moment, the lip-lock ended and he gazed up at her in surprise. "That was _nice_. Unexpected but _very_ nice. Did I do something right?"

"I may not know you anymore, but I trusted my body, heart and mind to you in the past. I can feel your love for me. And, I'm not going to lie, you're damn attractive for a man in his mid-fifties." Krystal placed her paw on her husband's chest and traced the contours of his athletically sculpted torso through the shirt. "Now I know where Marcus got his fantastic body – from his handsome father." Her actions began as a way to try and jog her own memory by flirting with the husband she'd never met before… however, her passionate heart and body took over. For some reason, it was very easy to want him. What initially started as an attempt to reenact spousal flirting had now turned into desire.

Fox ran his fingertips over her arms then took her by the hips, drawing her close. "I've sure missed your kisses, Krystal." His touch was, in fact, familiar. After years of being her mate, he knew just how to touch her and her body responded to it with a shiver down her spine. The vixen moved into his lap, her lips met his. A churr of satisfaction and content emanated from the back of his throat. She leaned to kiss at his neck and he whispered into her ear. "I wish there was a way to give you back your memories. I'd do whatever it took."

Krystal paused and glanced up at her husband. "There might be. Kursed's crashed ship wasn't Lylat technology from the other dimension – it was an upgraded version of the shuttle I used to catch up with you after you left Sauria when we first met. On the computer data banks will be information stretching back to the Cerinian programmers. Basic instructional guides and knowledge about Cerinia is on those chips and I can use them to teach myself the basics. With that as my guidance, I'll learn how to do simple things like join my mind to yours… If I delve into your mind and learn about my life through your memories then I stand the chance of jogging my real memories. With any luck, I'll regain some or all of my memories back. When that happens, I'll regain full functionality of my abilities. It's worth a shot, don't you think?"

McCloud placed his paws on her hips and made eye contact with her. "Do you have a guess on the location of that part of the ship? Would it have burned up in atmospheric entry, should it have landed on one of the planets? I mean, I remember that Slippy had decoded a little bit of the information from the shuttle's data banks and transferred it to a format our computer could read, just to learn more about Cerinia's location and such… That means he will know how to get the computers to network together and how t make our computers translate the file format of your computers… again, only if we can find it."

She touched her finger against her husband's cool, moist nose. "Fox, it crashed in a dusty valley on Macbeth. It's still there and it's intact. No one goes near it because the location is a warzone between two rival cities owned by mafia families currently in a dispute. Whoever goes will be in danger. Fara Phoenix has been trained by the Government for this kind of work…"

"Absolutely not," said Fox. "This is a McCloud family issue. I won't go risking Fara Phoenix just because it's something she's good at. This isn't a Star Fox affair. It's a McCloud family affair. I'll go. Marcus can go with me if he really wants to. Else, I'll handle it."

Krystal kissed him again. The lip-lock deepened, growing more passionate until Fox found himself compelled to lean her back across the desk. The office chair creaked from the shift of weight and he moved with her, unable to keep his paws off of his still-youthful-looking wife. She hooked her arm around his neck and a leg around his waist…

* * *

**"Don't go in there,"** said Marcus. The young fox crossed the bridge, approached Chester and told the feline, "My parents are, uh, getting reacquainted in the ways of marriage. I know, they're a little old for that but…"

A grin tugged at the corner of the cheetah's muzzle. "You're never too old for love. And, as far as love_ making_, you can do it until the day your body physically can't or won't. They make medicines for that, too."

The young man flinched. "I thought old guys would only need a pill like that to keep themselves from rolling out of bed in the middle of the night."

Chester snorted in amusement. "No, if you can use it, odds are your wife will still want you to hold her, touch her and love her. After being married for that long, it's not about hot bodies and sexy clothes anymore. It's about joining with your mate and bonding. You'll understand when you hit fifty and realize that you're still feeling young and randy on occasion."

Marcus turned to Falco, over in the far corner, and said, "So, uh, that's definitely difficult to imagine. Some old guy popping a few pills and going out to find some kinky drunk party girls."

"It happens more than you think, kid," replied Falco with a smirk.

The fox shook his head and rubbed his temples. "That's got to be awkward for the girl. How in the hell does _that_ work? Do they bring their old-person sex generation 'dirty-talk' back with them, too? I mean, it's got to be way different than, '_Oh, you like that, bitch? Take it deep, you hot little slut_' or whatever it is you hear during hanky-panky.

Lombardi snickered, cutting his gaze to Chester. "So what do _you_ say, old timer? Damn, I can just imagine it, too… '_Oh yeah, you like that, blockhead? Take it all the way, macaroni ears! Don't you spill a drop, nincompoop!'_ Hell, that's a riot and a half!"

Marcus buried his face into his paws with a groan. "Good grief, Falco. It sounds like you've actually put some thought into this topic."

"Meanwhile, your parents are _really_ in there? Right now?" Chester gestured towards the ready room door. "And… you can _sense_ that it's not a good time to go in there and talk? I mean, isn't that awkward for you? I know I would probably be grossed out if I ever walked in on _my_ parents… but to be able to know about it telepathically… that's got to be the worst."

"In Cerinian culture, no one hid anything from anyone," said McCloud, adding, "A person was completely accepted and respected and understood. No matter his or her fantasies, dreams or deepest inner desires, everyone already knew. We're a very open-minded race …Were a very open-minded race. Very accepting. Yeah, I know my parents have intimacy with one another; how else would I have been born? Needless to say, they're not 'decent' on the other side of that door."

"I'll be leaving GreatFox soon," said Chester. "I hope to speak with Fox one last time before my departure. I've arranged for a private transport shuttle to take me back to Corneria."

Lombardi sat up and tilted his head. "Man, that sucks. Just when we were getting used to having you around, too; why are you jetting out of here?"

"Ask _him_," said the elderly man, nodding towards Marcus. "I'm going to head down to the galley. I'd rather not get into what happened while you guys were standing on the flight deck, playing 'P.O.W.' but I'll tell you this… it was degrading, demeaning and I need to decompress from everything that's happened to me in the last few days here." Chester nodded respectfully to Marcus then left the bridge.

Falco quirked a brow. "Geeze, what was his big deal?" He cut his gaze to another door, across the bridge from where he sat. A Cornerian canine wearing overalls approached Lombardi and handed the falcon and clipboard then quietly left the way he came in. Falco's eyes danced over the information then he glanced up and said, "The small refit team has made it possible to break away from Titania under our own propulsion, using the combined strength of the maneuvering thrusters from both ships combined in conjunction with," he paused, squinted at the digital handwriting then continued, "…in conjunction with the plasma booster on the Carrier section. Ship separation is not recommended because the docking clamps, mounts, motors and mooring gear emitters are powered through a blown circuit panel in main engineering. Separation is easily possible but rejoining is currently impossible. Okay, so… back to the old guy, what was his deal?"

Marcus nodded to Falco's report then said, "I sense that fellow, Adler, made his life hellish while we were down in that force field, earlier. It wasn't pretty. The guy didn't rough Chester up, but… Mister Chester was forced to do things he felt were very uncomfortable. I'll explain it later, just follow him down to the galley and make sure he doesn't leave before dad gets the chance to talk to him. We'll leave Titania and head back to get a proper engine refit on Corneria in just a little while." He paused then told the elder falcon, "I'm going to give my parents just a few more minutes to get at themselves, then I'm going to go in there and talk to them."

Falco shrugged. "Yeah, whatever. I'll head down to the galley but then, if you need me, I'll be on the observation deck." He flitted his feathery hand in the air in a half-dismissive manner.

* * *

A few moments later, Fox and Krystal were sitting in the ready room, engaged in conversation. The soft swishing sound of automated doors caused their ears to perk up. "Hey, guys." The voice of their son came from the doorway leading to the bridge. "We'll be leaving Titania soon. The refit team from Corneria will have to take us back to Corneria to finish the job, but for now we'll be able to do it under our own propulsion. The mechanics managed to 'rig' the engine to get us off this planet and around local Lylat."

"Wonderful news, Marcus." Krystal offered a pleasant smile to her son. It was still difficult to swallow his existence, seeing that her last actual memory took place when she was actually younger than him. "Is a detour theoretically possible?"

"I… guess."

"This should be interesting," added Fox McCloud. "If not dangerous and poorly timed." He stood up from the chair opposite his wife and paced the ready room. "I'm not very keen on what she has to tell you, St-Marcus," he told his son.

The younger of the two McCloud males tilted his head and tapped into his mother's thoughts on a basic level. He sensed the situation on Macbeth and frowned then nodded to his father. "I know," replied the boy. "It _is_ a dangerous mission. Listen, dad, if you want to go and say good-bye to Mister Chester, now is the time to do it. He's going to be leaving with the Cornerian shuttle who helped to get us mobile."

Fox frowned. "I'm going to ask him to stay longer." He sighed and shrugged. "We'll be working with relatively unknown technology and he's supposed to be pretty good about that sort of stuff."

"No, dad," said Marcus. "He's good with the _history_ of that stuff. He doesn't have paws-on knowledge, like Slippy or Theodore. We have all we'll need with those two aboard. Chester's an old guy. He's had enough excitement for now. Did you even hear what happened to him when the rest of us were down in that force field on the flight deck?"

"No, I didn't." Fox recaptured his wife's paw.

Marcus walked to an observation window and folded his arms. "That guy, Adler, forced him to decode communications encrypted by a Venom resistance group then transmit the details to Imperial headquarters. This whole ordeal happened at gunpoint while Adler was down on the deck with us. Then, Adler went out to meet up with Kursed and the guy left in charge was getting nasty with Chester. After all the excitement, I went up to the bridge and found the two of them still working. There was a scuffle. I stunned the guard and threw him out the hatch, into the sand. Chester was shaken up; trust me… he's ready to go home."

"All right." Fox frowned. "I'll go talk to him and thank him for coming in the first place. We're going to Macbeth. We'll set an orbit around their moon and run the job by sending two people down to the location."

Marcus heard his father's thoughts on the matter and nodded. "You and me in a Landmaster, huh? What's the plan? You wanna hide it with a stealth tarp and infiltrate this syndicate by foot? What about Falco? He used to be a thug; if we're caught, he'd fit in better."

The elder McCloud shook his head. "No, Falco is a loudmouth. He's also using a bionic knee implant, so having him run around down there might not be a good idea. What if it were to go out, right?"

"Dad, _you_ have one in your wrist that no one even knows about." (A/N: _Reflections of The Future_)

"You do?" Krystal tilted her head a bit.

Fox nodded at his wife. "I screwed up my arm while on a mission with you. Later on, we were in a tank together and a dam burst. I was trying to save you by holding your paw but my injury caused my paw to give out and the water sucked you away. The tendons were ruptured, I destroyed the joint and tore muscle strands from trying to hold onto you."

Marcus took over in telling her the story from what he'd heard his mother tell him in the past. "You asked him never to let go and he promised that he wouldn't. It caused him to hold on until his paw actually _failed_ him. He couldn't use it anymore; it was that beyond repair. Nerve damage – you name it. So, now he has a bionic shoulder joint, metallic leads in his wrist and elbow… and, uh… and part of his paw."

"The pain must have been excruciating." Krystal looked back to Fox, unable to sense anything more than honesty and the memory of his physical ailment.

Fox nodded slowly. "Not nearly as bad as I hurt when I woke up to find you were missing. I was miserable." He offered her a gentle smile, squeezing her paw. "When we found you, I proposed to you. We were engaged for quite some time before I chased you off."

"Chased me off?" she asked.

"I'll let Marcus tell the story," said Fox. "I'd better catch up with Chester before he's gone. I'll be back, love." He stood up and walked out of the ready room.

Marcus frowned and turned to his mother. "He doesn't want to tell you the story because he's ashamed of how he acted. Funny thing is, he only acted the way he did because he _thought_ he was responsible for getting another girl killed… turns out Fara got herself killed doing work for Corneria, not Star Fox. Then she was put into suspended animation and woke up the year after you guys were thought to be dead. She's been out of suspended animation for… it's going on six years now."

"Did our engagement not last?" asked Krystal, in regards to herself with Fox. She recalled the watcher telling her a few vague details earlier in the morning but he didn't say nearly enough to jog her memory.

The boy shook his head. "Afraid you would be injured and disappear from his life, like Fara, dad decided to kick you off the team. You resented his decision and you were ashamed. You questioned yourself, blamed yourself for getting emotional with him and questioned your own professional judgment. In the end, you resented him. Then you began dating an enemy pilot named Panther Caruso."

"My goodness!" Krystal quirked a brow and tilted her head. "I did? That's awfully low of me; was I truly such a stubborn girl?"

"It's long and complicated," said Marcus. "You shared a friendly date or two with Bill Grey in the Cornerian military but had nothing in common beyond piloting. You dated Panther because he was a romantic. I despise of him. I ran into Panther a few times last year and I can't stand him. Anyhow, emotions can make us spiteful; you may have been stubborn about things but you didn't do things to _be_ low. Your intentions were to repair your broken ego. We all do things that are dumb in our youth, right? I'm doing lots of dumb things all the time, you know what I mean?" He shrugged, not trying to be offensive to his mother. He decided to turn it into a lighthearted joke. "Sure, it wasn't your crowning achievement but, in the end, dad worked things out with you because he loves you. And, in the end, that's what mattered."

She offered a light smile. "I'm glad because one of the very few things I do remember is that I love your father with all my heart. Listen, I'm afraid for you both to go to Macbeth for me. Perhaps you and I should go. Or, maybe Fara and I should go – she's trained for this sort of thing, right?"

"Dad wants to do this for you. He's become a little bit of a gentleman in his old age. He wants to be the one to do this and he wants to do a mission with me. He's easy to read – this is a family matter so far as he's concerned."

"A father and son job," she replied.

"Exactly."

* * *

_Later that afternoon…  
__Southern Macbeth.  
Three hours before sunset…_

**With Fox and Marcus McCloud inside,** the Landmaster tank ascended from the atmosphere, landing in an abandoned parking garage at the edge of town. A holographic emitter displayed a realistic bust of Fara Phoenix in front of Marcus. She gazed into his heterochromatic eyes and offered him an endearing smile.

Fara's voice was smooth and silky to her lover. "I'll be your eyes, ears and advisor in this mission. While I wish you'd have let me tag along, it's for the best that you left the females out of this equation. I've been doing some online research; this family is an olden-time family of criminals. They don't like women involved in, well… anything, as they don't find criminal acts befitting of a lady and, so, they treat their females like ladies, save for prostitutes; that's another issue all together." Phoenix's image fluttered then re-stabilized.

She continued to speak. "You'll both need to obtain nice clothing upon arrival to the downtown area. Don't go thinking pinstripes and top hats; you'll want to consider button-down shirts with cufflinks, nice shoes and dress slacks. Pick up a vest that matches your belt, make sure your shoes are dark, polished; match your socks and pants… One last thing, you won't get far with your gauntlet communicators so listen up, boys… Slippy is working on a condensed version. It's not a fully functional computer but this communicator fits into a wristwatch. It has a Bluetooth link to a concealed earpiece and we'll be able to advise you from the ship without interfering with your appearance."

Fox, back to back with his son, turned about in his chair and leaned over the boy's shoulder. "What's the plan, Fara?"

Her eyes lifted, looking passed her mate. "You're from another family and you have a business proposition to offer these people. They're so removed from what's going on in the rest of Lylat that they don't even know about Star Fox, beyond having heard of the name. So, for this mission, you'll tell them that you're representatives of the McCloud clan, a proud family of tech merch. Remember, computers are legit business for your family, but you're still mafia boys. You're in town, looking for a part from a ship that broke up in the atmosphere about a year ago; they don't have to know that it's alien technology from a race outside of Lylat. Let's keep it that way."

This time, Marcus chimed in. "When will the new communicators and the ear-pieces be ready?"

"We'll send them to you via instant transmission when they're ready," Fara told them, adding, "It'll be a few hours, though. Listen up, boys. We've hacked in to three local satellites. We've gained control of a cellular and subspace telecommunication satellite and will be able to monitor some of their transmissions. We've also commandeered a traffic monitoring satellite that is in use by a local news station for checking weather and things like that. The third satellite we've been able to hack will allow GreatFox to zoom in and see a detailed map of town. So long as you guys aren't under a roof, we'll be able to give you feedback on your immediate surroundings.

"I want you two to be very careful. If you lose their trust, they'll try and make you disappear. Today's forecast is a high of seventy-five Fahrenheit with sunny skies and a mild breeze on-and-off throughout the day; the sun sets in three hours and twelve minutes in your area. Finally, I've taken the liberty of having Falco call one of the local bosses in town to arrange a meeting for you guys with the family who owns the city in which you're currently located. Play it cool n' casual; we're here to try and find out information on this missing memory module."

The transmission ended abruptly, the cockpit darkened. Marcus glanced back at his father and said, "What a woman, huh? Let's get started. We'll need to pick up some business attire with a hint of flair. You'll have to help me with the knot of my tie – I'm a little sloppy."

"Not a problem," replied Fox, opening the cockpit. "I'll set up the stealth tarp. I want you to walk up to the rooftop floor and scout the area with your binoculars."

Marcus nodded and took off for the far end of the empty parking garage. Once he reached the roof, he ran to the west end and knelt down, peering over the concrete ledge. He brought the binoculars to his face and scanned the area then touched a button on his wristband radio and said, "West sector is quiet. No sign of activity." He quickly ran to the south, reported the same then followed through with the east and north area.

"Okay, dad. It's official – we're alone. I located a shopping center in town about two miles to the north of here. It's a bit of a hike but nothing major."

"All right, kiddo. C'mon back and we'll head up there together."

* * *

**The fennec frowned. ** **"I just don't like that they're down there alone."** She shifted her eyes to a nearby monitor, displaying two small dots on a satellite map. "It's not so much that they're alone; they're both capable pilots and soldiers, but neither of them have been trained to blend into their surroundings. They've not had infiltration classes and losing both McClouds' would be a huge mess."

Lucy and Vivian Hare sat at the helm with Theodore squatting on the floor over an exposed access panel. He glanced up at Fara to acknowledge her statement then lowered his eyes to the cabling in his hands. He lifted a small communicator from his pocket and spoke into it. "Dad, I've adjusted the converter and rewired the relay circuit box. You should have power in the lab, now."

A thin speaker buzzed with Slippy's reply. "I've got power down here, now. Go ahead and c-c-close the hatch then meet me down here. Stop by my quarters and tell your mother to come, too. She left her personal communicator with me."

"Okay." He adjusted the brim of his hat, closed the maintenance hatch then tipped his brim to Fara and the Hare girls. "Ladies." Theodore left the bridge.

Meanwhile, down on the observation deck, Falco and Krystal were side by side, watching the planet beneath them. He shrugged somewhat and waved in a dismissive manner. "It's just a temporary setback, sister. It's not like I don't miss Katt. I mean… I love her, you know? I really do. But she's raising a baby and looking after our daughter. She doesn't need some action junkie like me complicating things right now. When everything calms down, we'll get back together."

"Fair enough," said Krystal. She placed her right paw atop of her left and twisted the wedding band on her finger. "I just met my husband for the first time ever… sort of like an arranged marriage but now that I'm getting to know him, I really must say I made a good choice. I just want to see you happy, too."

"You weren't always so happy with him," said Falco with another shrug and a light chuckle. "It's just new and fresh again. There are no flaws and all that crap. Everything is fairytale-land. I mean… you guys are practically newlyweds again."

Krystal blushed ever so slightly. "I admit - your portrayal is rather accurate. I want to know the man I married and so I've spent… a _lot_ of time with him the past few days."

"So the hanky-panky is as good as the day ya' married him, huh? Well I'll drink to that." Falco turned away from her and stopped in front of a machine built into the nearest wall. "I'm envious, okay? You probably already knew that."

"My powers are lacking and, furthermore," Krystal paused, finding herself interrupted by Lombardi.

"Nah, you're a chick. Chicks pick up on that kind of stuff without using telepathy. I've kinda' missed being with Katt."

"Intimacy is an integral part of most relationships, Falco. A strong romance is never a bad thing."

He pulled a glass from the conjuration plate and turned to her. "Nah, Katt and I were never the touchy-feely types. Don't get me wrong, though. We had sex and such; there was plenty of that in our lives or whatever. But outside the bedroom, we kept our hands to ourselves. Now, when you and Fox finally moved passed your silly phases, early in the marriage, you guys were always holding hands, touching one another on the shoulder, the arm, just a pat on the rump or back or knee… and snuggling, good god did you guys cuddle up; it was disgusting. I used to have this nickname for him… it didn't last long but…" he brought a feathery finger to the bottom of his beak. "Crap, what was it I called him?"

"Canoodling king," she replied. Her eyes widened and she blinked. "I… I remember that."

"Weird, because I never said that around you. He told you, huh?"

She shook her head slowly. "I believe I'd heard it from your thoughts, once upon a time. I can't believe I remember that."

"My thoughts, huh? _That's_ awkward," said Falco, shaking his head slowly. "I bet you've heard some rather embarrasing thoughts in your time, huh?"

"While I imagine I may have heard things that were quite gauche, I don't rightly recall," she told him with a shrug. "My abilities are quite selective right now." Krystal turned her gaze back to the planet. "Right now, I sense that there is a scuffle somewhere. I don't know who but the passions, anxieties and emotions of someone trying to either best a fight or survive a fight… that's a very intense sensation and I perceive it to be out there somewhere. It's like catching a whiff of a delicious dish in a large yet empty restaurant. Where is the smell coming from? The kitchen seems likely but I can't pinpoint it yet because it's coming from everywhere yet it's very faint. Needless to say, somewhere not far from here, someone is in a bit of trouble."

"Seriously?" Lombardi glanced back at the drink maker. "Wonder why they've not called in. Do you want something in particular, before I close this station?" Really, he could care less about getting her a drink. He wanted to find out more about his friend and new team leader.

"I'm fine," she said, adding, "Thank you for being a gentleman. I'm sorry that I cannot see or 'sense' any details. We should probably check up on Fox and Marcus but I wouldn't want to throw their cover, either. Just in case. Let's not … simply _appear_ with our guns blazing.

"Right." He took his drink and left the observation deck.

* * *

A/N: _Oh noez! Are Marcus and Fox all right? Yeah, there's more than a scuffle ensuing. It's an all out action moment between two of the groups at war. Fox and Marcus are in the crossfire right now_

_I think I'll write one more chapter to THIS story before I go and devote all my time to working more on Spy Cooper. I have to re-read that whole story, after all. This one I'm already up to date on ;)_

_See you soon with the follow up chapter to this story. I'll start with Fox and Marcus in the thick of the action. I didn't give any action today. Romance; story building intrigue and all that stuff… but no real action_. _ That will come with the beginning of chapter 12. Rawr._

_See ya then!_


	12. Secret Mission

A/N: _So, it's been since November of 2008. I really have no apology worthy enough of making you wait this long to read this story. However, I've noticed that I'm having an extraordinary amount of people reading the Reflections stories right now. So guess what? I'm baaack! It seems that Star Fox and Sly Cooper, as well as Castlevania have hardly any readers these days. Too bad because that's what I do! So when people suggest to me to write Harry Potter, Halo, Terminator, Crysis, Far Cry, Fallout 3, BioShock2, etc… well. My first thought is… how can I incorporate anthro into it, my second thought is… nah. When I do non-anthro work, it'll be original material. _

_My initial plan was to start on original-ONLY work on January first, 2010. I was going to start posting on FictionPress dot com, FanFictionNet's sister site for original work. BUT… I really need to get a lot of my bigger stories finish here first. Dawn of Progeny, Spy Cooper (both are nearly complete, as is The Curse), this story, Reflections of Fox… I mean, seriously, I'm GOING TO FINISH ALL MY STORIES on this site at some point. ALL of them. Yes, Nothing Passed Tomorrow, YES Similar Paths Taken… everything. But once I get the widely-read stories out of the way, which will happen soon, I DO want to try writing a fresh original story. Why? I can't shop Fan Fiction to a publisher, now can I? LOL. _

_So I just re-read ALL of Reflections of a New Generation and Reflections of Marcus McCloud. OMFG there are SO MANY LOOPHOLES in it. Ones that NO ONE ever seems to mention to me, LMAO. For example, we first see Miyu as a Lieutenant in the epilogue of New Generation. Then in chapter… two I think of THIS story… she's a retired StarShip Captain! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! In the epilogue of the last story, she's LOOKING for Fara cause she's not seen her friend in decades. In THIS story, she's four years into personal training from Fara as a friend. GAH! There are SO many loopholes just like that, some are in the same chapter, some are in the same story, some are between two related stories. It's just NASTY, man! I was like… D:_

_I've read through it and written so much stuff on the side. Kyong Adler isn't dead, he just got his arm cut off with a blaster sword's beam. So far, all I can say after this giant re-read is… this story is ALL OVER THE PLACE! _

_Bliss is looking for Carey Granton with Kursed, Red was picked up after Bill was abducted by Dash, who threatened to jettison Bill out an airlock in a tube, the way Pepper did to Andross… Fay has to be worried sick but Red probably hasn't remembered Dash's threat yet… Fox and Marcus are on Macbeth going after a part of Kursed's ship, which broke up by the reverse polarity power of the Spell Stones brought through a wormhole. A piece landed on Titania, Fichina, just all over the place. Then they were all recovered and placed on Corneria then stolen by Dash. Everyone is everywhere. It's time to pull the storyline back into some semblance of a direction. The problem is, I never knew what I wanted to do with this story. Now I have a slight idea for some measure of a direction. However, I have to write a few things to get myself out of the hole I've created for this plotline thusfar. It'll take a little while to get BACK on track, so let's get started, huh? _

_So anyhow… I was on StarFox-Online, the forum page, night before last… I found it by accident while googling… and found an old thread where people are talking about favorite Star Fox stories. Just a few people mentioned me but at the end, on the second page, there was a small discussion about me and about this story. It inspired me to register and reply. They said they were waiting for the update to Marcus' story and this was back in freakin' AUGUST! All I can say is… WELL GUYS, HERE IT IS! :D_

_I think the best two quotes from that thread, in regards to me, were, "You're not a proper starfox fan if you didn't read Reflections!" Some guy was like, 'I've not read it, you saying I'm not a proper starfox fan?' and that was followed by something to the tune of, "you've not read his work? Infidel! Kill him!" I think I peed my pants… metaphorically, of course. I'm paraphrasing; I read the thread just a few days ago. But it was still hilarious to read that stuff. THANK YOU! xD _

_Okay… I've decided this part is going to be a double-long chapter. I wrote all the way up to the crazy action part. Expect that up REALLY soon. Right now I just wanted to write a quick little section to set the stage. OMFG though, there's going to be some crazy wild action to kick off chapter 13. For everyone who LOVES seeing girls kick tail and chew bubble gum while doing it… chapter 13 will be the one for you! xD_

_

* * *

_

Chapter -12-  
"_Secret Mission_"

**Fay Spaniel doubled over, paws on the rim of the toilet**. She groaned miserably, wiped the backside of her maw then sat up straight and sighed. Her facial fur was moist with sweat. Her ears lowered and with a little strain, she moved to a nearby sink to wash her face.

A muffled voice was heard through the door. "Fay? You okay in there, girl?"

She sighed again. "I'm fine, Miyu. I'll be out in a minute. Tell Jack I'm… just not feeling well."

"Hurry up, you won't want to miss this! They're talking to you man on the main view screen!"

Fay's adrenaline spiked. Relief and excitement pushed aside the feelings of worry and queasiness. She grabbed her purse from the floor, shouldered it and splashed water on her palms then quickly gargled and spit it out. The spaniel unlocked the bathroom door and blazed by Miyu. Together, the two women ran up to the control deck where Jack Pepper was standing in front of a large view screen.

She gasped, seeing Bill's dingy appearance. "William! Oh my _God_, what have they done to you?!" She brought both of her paws to her muzzle seeing him in such a way.

Bill's eyes lifted beyond Jack then widened. "F…Fay?" He tried to move towards the camera lens on his end and, over the command center's PA system, rattling irons could be heard.

Again, Fay gasped. "Are you in _chains_?! William, are they treating you according to convention standards?"

"No," said Bill, glad to hear her voice, even though he couldn't see her because Jack Pepper was still on the view screen. "God I love you. I know it's not been very long but… I think about you day in and day out to get through this. They have me contacting Corneria for one reason only… And I'll be here a little while longer… They said they want Corneria front line defenses to fall back to the Meteo asteroid belt."

Jack folded his arms, looking stoic. "Roland isn't going to like this." He paused briefly then asked, "How big is this core base, Bill?"

"It might as well be a moon, Jack. If I were able to escape, I wouldn't even know what way to go. I've never seen such a place before." He cut his eyes back up. "Fay, you still there? I can't believe you're seeing me like this."

Jack lifted a paw to Fay to keep her from answering. "Yes, Bill, she's still here. Listen, Crimson said he recalled Bowman making a threat to throw you out of an airlock like my father did to his grandfather. What about a prisoner substitution? I can stand in your place…"

"No!" Bill glared at him. "Are you an idiot, Jack? Corneria needs you and Roland to win this war! I only told Venom I'd beg Corneria's perimeter withdraw on their behalf so I could prove to you guys that I'm all right. Don't go doing anything stupid. Don't send a mercenary team, _don't_ send a rescue fleet. I'm not talking and anything I have to tell them is unimportant to them right now, anyhow."

"Who's running the show up there?"

Dash Bowman's visual filled the screen. He looked clean, well groomed and pleasant. "I am. Andrew was injured… by me. He'll be in stasis until… well, forever. There is no longer a civil war. There is no longer a dispute over Venom. GreatFox, from what I've heard, is dead in the water. I've heard that _my _general has captured them and that she's had _all_ of them executed on Titania. Yes, including the two telepaths. Now, with that little bit out of the way… we can talk about business… Withdraw your forces back to the asteroid belt then I'll release General Grey out the airlock. In twenty-four hours from his jettison, I'll call you and give you the signal to pick him up. It'll be up to your forces to find his floating pod… we'll leave it up to fate just like Corneria had decided to play 'God' with my _grandfather's_ fate."

Spaniel brought her paws to her muzzle, trying to hold back tears. Her lower lip trembled and her heart began to pound, hearing Dash's threat. "…No, please. William even defended you, last year. Why are you doing this?" Her voice was soft and shaky.

Miyu Lynx brushed by Fay and approached Jack. She stepped in front of the video lens, lifted her fist to Dash and said, "You little twerp, you're so hung up on your grandfather that I bet you didn't even _know_ he was the one who gave the order to _assassinate_ your MOTHER while she was working on _our _base, as a proud CORNERIAN." (A/N: _Reflections of Fox McCloud_)

Dash blinked. "Excuse _me_?"

She pointed a finger towards the lens. "I was on security detail that night. I was there when the base was quarantined because she was assassinated with some sort of package that contained the Venom Plague. A while later, they found the driver and his delivery van… or what was left of it. Venom killed the killer to cover their tracks. Your grandfather had his _own daughter_ killed because he wanted his _nephew_ to be the heir. So stop defending Andross Oikonny, he didn't give a _damn_ about you!"

Jack put his paw on her arm to try and guide her away but paused when Bowman scoffed. Dash cleared his throat and said, "I'm going to look into your claim." He turned away from the lens on his side of the communication and told someone in the background, "Just… put him back in his cell for now. Things have changed. Open a connection to Kursed's transport ship." The communication with Corneria ended.

Jack turned to Miyu and tightened his jaw. "That was either very gutsy or very stupid of you, Captain Lynx. What are you doing here anyhow?"

"I _am_ active reserves," she murmured with a sigh. "I was Fay's driver. You said you wanted to speak to her today, remember? She didn't feel well enough to drive herself up here this early in the morning."

Pepper swallowed and turned to look at the white-furred canine up by the doorway. "Miss Spaniel, please excuse what you've just seen. I apologize; I know this must be difficult for you. I didn't intend for you to see him like that… in fact, we had no idea that we'd get that communication… it was quite out of the blue. Again, I'm sorry you saw him that way."

Fay nodded with a frown. "Just… do what you must to get him back." She descended four stairs and crossed the control deck then placed a paw on Miyu's forearm. "Thank you. For all we know, he may not send William through an airlock now; you could see it on his face… what you said to him had a profound effect, Miyu… Were you really there?"

"Remember the attack on WestTown the very next day? Fox and his boys were on base, with McCloud shacked up at Fara Phoenix's house… then you and Fara met me out at a Flack Gun the next morning and we fought those Battle Attack Tanks in a crappy sedan?"

The half-poodle grimaced. "I vaguely remember some of that. It was _thirty years ago_, Miyu."

The bob-eared lynx scoffed. "Yeah, I know, my memory is _amazing_. You don't have to tell me, I already know it's true." She turned back to Pepper and said, "You can't let that piece of crap get away with this. He's a war criminal. He and Oikonny have murdered generals and thousands of civilians on Corneria. This isn't right. We need to sink that piece of crap. Why don't you call Fara Phoenix and have her and her special forces group head in there and get him out?"

With a sharp glare, Jack told her, "It's not that simple, Captain Lynx." He turned to Fay and said, "I initially wanted to go back over some of the finer details of the last time you'd seen Bill… but now that we _know_ he's alive and we have _proof_ he's with Bowman… our conversation seems unnecessary. But I appreciate you taking the time to come up here at this early hour."

Fay nodded. "It's not a problem. I get up early and I stay up late."

"General Grey is a lucky man," he said in an attempt to show a little compassion towards her. "How long have you two been an item?"

"We began seeing each other about a year ago but we didn't get serious until almost six months ago. Rather… that's when we publically started calling it a 'relationship'. I don't think I'll be staying up _late_ for much longer. I'm afraid, if you don't need any more from me, I'd like to go and rest, General Pepper." She offered a wan smile and said, "Two stars… I hope you make it up to where John made it. He was a fantastic General… and, then later, when Peppy was General, your father became a fantastic Prime Minister. He's dreadfully missed."

"Thank you, Miss Spaniel. I promise, if I hear anything else about General Grey, you'll be the _first_ to know." He turned to Miyu and said, "Please take her home and, since you're still in the reserves… consider yourself _on duty_. I'd like you to keep an eye on Miss Spaniel, here. Do it for Bill… he'd like that. I don't trust them not to try something disgusting like that ever again. Coming right on base… abducting someone… it was very blatant. I wish I'd have been there… that little prick would have been in _our_ jail right now." He swallowed back his resentment of Dash Bowman and frowned. "I'm sorry, ladies. Forgive my temper."

Fay gave a tug at Miyu's sleeve. "Bathroom," she murmured, reaching for her stomach. "Let's go." With a guiding touch from Miyu, Fay was led back to the nearby bathroom a second time.

Once the girls were back out in the hallway, Miyu opened the door for her and asked, "What the heck is wrong with you? You saw he's alive… what's going on? You pregnant or something?"

Fay glanced over her shoulder with a grimace then knelt back in front of the toilet again. Miyu continued where she left off, adding, "Nah, it can't be pregnancy. You're in your fifties… I mean, shouldn't you be hitting menopause?"

The spaniel replied by retching into the toilet. Miyu looked down into the purse that was still dangling from Fay's arm and saw a urine test box sticking out of the main pouch of the small handbag. She reached down and snatched it out but the box still had its plastic wrapping from the factory. The feline removed the shrink-wrap then fussed with the little container until the cardboard ripped. She pulled out the small test and placed it on the sink. "Now is as good of a time as any to find out for sure, Fay. I'll be waiting outside." She walked out into the hall and shut the bathroom door behind her.

* * *

_Moments later…_

**Fay and Miyu sat in the feline's sports coupe.** They passed through the Academy front gates and headed towards the dormitories. Miyu glanced at her friend who held the little plastic test with the little fabric applicator. It smelled of pee. The little box at the center was still blank. "God those things take forever."

"Where are we going?" asked Spaniel. "What's on campus?"

"Our best bet for contacting Star Fox." Miyu grinned. "You remember how that bozo said they were dead?"

"…Yes."

Miyu grinned. "I know for a fact that they escaped. Obviously news hasn't gotten back to Bowmen yet, so StarFox has the element of surprise. We're going to see Crimson O'Donnell to ask him how we can speak with the McClouds. Don't you worry… we'll get Bill back. Those two telepaths and Fara, combined, could get him out of there so fast that Bowman's head will spin right off his shoulders."

The curly white-furred canine silently lifted the test applicator and showed Miyu the little pink 'PLUS' sign in the tiny square box. After a moment she said, "I don't know if I'm excited or crushed… if they kill William, this baby will be growing up without a father."

Miyu pulled over in front of the building Crimson O'Donnell lived in. She turned to Fay and drew the girl into her arms. "Listen, this baby isn't just going to _have_ a father… you and Bill are going to be married, mark my words. He's going to get through this, I swear. I promise you, Fay." She drew her head back a bit to gaze into her friend's eyes. "Look at me." The slightly younger woman met Miyu's bright blue hues with tears in her own. The lynx exclaimed, "He's going to be SO excited! Bill… the family man. That's the kind of stuff that men want when they're his age. They want to settle down and raise a family and be proud of their kids, running around and furthering the family name. They're all about that _family name_ crap. He's going to be SO excited when you tell him! Start planning for a wedding, because, Fay… that man is coming home _soon_. I promise."

"I'm just… so scared that they're going to do something to him," she murmured, swallowing back tears. "I know I shouldn't be stressed right now… it's bad for the baby."

Miyu face-faulted. "It's probably smaller than a grain of rice, right now. And that's IF the test is even… right. Stop getting all excited. Look, we're here to see Crimson because he can get a hold of Marcus quicker than anyone I know. Come on inside."

"Swear you'll keep it a secret. I don't want to tell anyone until I feel it's the _right_ time. I mean… if anything happened… and if I lost it or something, I wouldn't want anyone to have even known. I'm just… I'm…" She took three deep breaths then sighed and offered a slight smile. "Don't mind me, Miyu. I'm a bundle of nerves, you know? You're probably right and the test was wrong. It was the bargain brand, not the name brand. I got the cheapest one, so that I could laugh and say it was wrong if anything happened. I'm sure my estrus cycle is only out of whack because I'm so stressed out about William's capture."

Miyu nodded in reply. She opened the car door and Fay got out on the other side. They made their way up to the third floor and Crimson opened the door. He looked as though he'd not slept in a day or two.

He invited them inside and slumped down onto the sofa. "If you girls came by to tell me the news… don't bother. My sister already has. I know they're dead."

Miyu rolled her eyes. "And you believed her? They're over Macbeth _right now_."

"…What? Don't _lie_ to me, lady. I know you're a friend of Fara Phoenix and stuff… I saw you guys running side by side on treadmills last month almost every day… but don't patronize me." He trailed off and sighed, trying not to sound nasty to the two females. "Look, I'm sorry I got snippy right off the get-go. I know you know'em and all but… Bliss was _there_. That little blue whore from Fichina… the one we thought Marcus killed? Yeah, that little monster gave the order to have the whole team killed and then she left. Bliss was powerless to do crap about it. Don't lie to me."

Fay murmured to Miyu. "I don't feel so well." She turned to Crimson and, politely, asked, "Where's your bathroom?"

Crimson pointed down the hall. "Second door on the right-hand side." He cut his eyes back to Miyu and narrowed them. "Why the hell would you come here and say this shi- …this _stuff_ to me when I'm going through this. Did you KNOW Marcus the way I did? NO! I loved that dude. _LOVED_. I'd do anything for him, lady. He was a brother to me, so again I ask you… what makes you think you're so effing right about this?"

Lynx smirked at the way he corrected the first curse word but not the second. "The ole' F-bomb, huh kid? I _know _they're okay because Fara sent me special text-based orders six hours ago _this morning_. They're over Macbeth _right now_. No, I've _not_ seen her face to face and I have NO WAY of knowing HOW to contact the GreatFox in order to reply. Their main communication's grid is down and unresponsive to general channel hails. But _you_ know their emergency frequency band. Oh, and about them being alive? Keep that to yourself since Dash Bowmen doesn't seem to know, either. In fact… I'm going to contact Fara in a little while… and tell her the good news… _everyone_ thinks StarFox is dead. Let's keep it that way. They will really benefit from having the element of surprise. Don't even tell your sister, because '_that little blue whore from Fichina_' will telepathically sense it from the girl. What's she doing with that weirdo woman anyhow?"

"It's complicated," said Crimson with a sigh. "You swear they're alive?"

Miyu knelt down in front of the sofa, coming eye to eye with O'Donnell. In a softer, more personal tone, she said, "I promise. It's the reason I'm here. I need you to contact Marcus as soon as possible, since I can't _reply_ to Fara in any other way. I now know where they're keeping General Grey and I'm betting you'll want to help us get him back so you can clear your conscience for letting him slip right through your fingers." She watched his eyes widen. In the background, the sound of Fay gagging then throwing up could be heard from just down the hallway. Miyu's ears lowered. "I'm so jealous."

O'Donnell balked. "Of her throwing up?" He shook his head, unable to comprehend. "Never mind, I don't even want to understand. Women are complicated." The sound of Fay retching hard filled the dormitory hallway again.

She rolled her eyes again. "Boy you're not very perceptive are you? Just get me in contact with the GreatFox. It's important."

* * *

**Lucy, Vivian, Fara and Krystal all looked contemplative.** Their attention was on the main viewer, listening to Crimson and Miyu. Krystal stood up and turned to her fellow females. "I vaguely remember Bill Grey. He was one of the few people I could turn to when I had nowhere to go before I was married. He's important."

Fara looked up at the blue furred woman in her upper forties. However, she didn't have to vocalize her thoughts… Vivian did it, instead. "Marcus and Fox would be against it. We're in no shape to attack a core base. It's impossible. What with the boys down there, on Macbeth… I mean, we're close… we can see Venom through the aft window… but there's no way those boys would do it. And why should they? We've all nearly died and our ship is in desperate need of repair."

Krystal frowned and shook her head. "That's not good enough. We're supposed to be the no-fail go-getter mercenary team. We make things happen. I've read the news… I may not remember every detail but… I've read the old headlines… this is what we do. That poor man is locked up and he did nothing; they _abducted _him just to amuse themselves. We should do something. We _must_ do something."

Lucy frowned thoughtfully. "We hear ya, sister… but what are our options, here?"

Fara glanced up at the screen and said, "Listen… we've got to talk about this. We'll call you back."

Quickly, Miyu blurted out, "Fay is here with me… we can't leave Bill there to die; they want to throw him out of an airlock the way Andross was banished from Corneria. Time is running out for him!" Her words caused everyone on the bridge to freeze. They all turned back to the viewer.

The fennec licked her lips slowly then sighed. "So it's definite – they're an item? Boy those two wasted no time."

The lynx frowned. "They were seeing each other in secrecy for a while… they've only gone public about dating within the last five or six months. They met three weeks after Bill became acting General. They were 'talking' a week later. Look… she's here… she's so worried about him that she's actually ill… she saw him when he contacted Corneria, earlier this morning. Fara… you know Bill. You've seen him a hundred times. But this time… his eyes were sunken in and he was so dirty. It just… it wasn't right, and she had to see him like that."

Another sigh. Fara nodded. "Look, we'll call you back. Just sit tight for right now. We've got to talk about this." She nodded to Vivian, who cut the transmission. The fennec vixen slumped into a chair near Krystal. "Mrs. McCloud… Krystal… look, I really want to say this is feasible… but we'd need a lizard to get us in."

Krystal shook her head. "Come with me, Fara." She walked into the ready room, cut her eyes to the desk where she and Fox recently got romantic then cleared her throat, pushing the image out of her head. She turned around. When the door closed behind Fara, she said, "In order to know what's been going on lately, I've been reading a lot. In the tabloids, you were in some sort of debacle with a trainee over a gender dispute."

"Good goddess, that got _out_?" Fara groaned.

"Yes, a lizard… he's the one helping Violet Lombardi to raise my grandson. Aren't you teaching him how to get into things undetected and how to survive the un-survivable? Listen… I've been practicing with Marcus to regain my ability to mentally link with someone. I would like for you to focus on your training and I would like to try and have you _train me_ to do what you and he do… in a matter of minutes. Then, the three of us should go there and retrieve Bill Grey."

"The Gunnery Sergeant is part avian but… it could work," she murmured to herself. Fara rubbed the bottom of her chin. "Fox and Marcus would freak out."

"So? They'll get over it. We can do this. I've been reading to catch up on things… if they're at this new Venom core base, now is the time, because they're not fully staffed and they're not fully operational yet. Think about it. Ask ROB what our survival percentage is… no matter what he says, it'll be higher now than it is if we wait."

The fennec's ears lowered. "Are you absolutely positive you would be able to link up with me and learn some of the things I know? I thought you were struggling with your abilities?"

"Marus and I have been doing training sessions together. Part of the reason we're here on Macbeth is to receive data logs from Kursed's original ship so I can learn more about my homeworld training. We _both_ know that they found part of the ship down there on Macbeth and we both know that they'll be uploading some of the data files very soon. But for now, I'm re-reading what Slippy once salvaged for me from _my_ ship… it's on a data chip inside of ROB's chest. I've been skimming through them since early this morning… I've got the parts on how to establish a mental link. I'll sit down with you and follow the directions… Call the lizard… Asper, was it?"

Fara nodded. "Asper Sarnoff. He'll have to bind down his wings with some sort of …suspenders or something. This could get tricky if we screw up… Fox and Marcus will be _so_ angry if they catch us."

Krystal's eyes were nearly shimmering. "Fara, please. This would mean a great deal to me. I really feel like I can help. You've got to follow your heart in things… and helping people is the right thing to do, especially when we're only a planet away. We could have Mister Sarnoff act as though he's a lizard from the outer rim… then he would escort us to the core base as a priority prisoner couple… and we would all be lead to the detention area… we would free Bill and leave quickly in a ship that would be cloaked by Theodore's stealth… thing he has."

Fara continued to rub her chin. "It could work. Maybe we could fake Bill's death somehow …have Dash somehow believe that Bill was vaporized during an escape attempt… then we all leave without worries of pursuit… We need to think this out. Fox and Marcus will be on Macbeth for forty-eight more hours at most. Are you sure you can initiate the mental link? You'll need to know what I know in order for this plan to be feasible."

"Call Asper. Meet me in my quarters when you're done so we can get started."

Fara nodded slowly. "If this thing backfires… the McCloud boys are going to have a heart attack." She sighed one more time then nodded. "I'll see you in your quarters shortly. Let me try calling Asper."

* * *

**"Fox?"** **McCloud** lifted the communicator to his ear and whispered a reply. The voice on the other end said, "How's the mission? Krystal said she's starting to regain some of her abilities but things are very limited. She sensed that there is a great conflict down there with danger and whatnot… we wanted to make sure you guys were okay."

The elder vulpine sat up in his bed and said, "We're staying at a hotel, here. No one suspects a thing. We're kinda' playing both sides for the middle using diplomacy. Not my normal way of doing things but we finally found out where the ship crashed. It's out in the hills between the two towns. That's why we couldn't get a fix on it with the GreatFox sensors from orbit… it crash landed in a mountainous region but from what I've learned, it's in a valley area between the two taller peaks, encased in clay and mud. It's all in one piece."

"That's great news," said the female voice on the other end. "Listen, we've just learned that Bill has been taken by Venom. We're within shuttle distance and Theodore's cloaking device can get us in. I didn't want you telling Marcus because he wouldn't let me go."

Fox frowned "Don't ask _my_ permission. I… I've already sent you to your death once." He was trying to make a joke out of it, seeing as that she was alive but… with his stoic tone, it came out all wrong.

"Fox James McCloud, you did _no such thing_ so get your head out of your tail and think straight. I'm going with Asper Sarnoff – he's my best trainee. Once we get Bill back, StarFox will be able to attack the base." She paused, knowing exactly what Fox was going to say next then, before he could say it, she told him, "This was _not_ my idea. But I'm going along with it. We need Bill back and so does Corneria. I've been by the books my whole life and, now, it's time to do what _I_ think is right. We have enough people to do two things at once. Don't try and stop me."

Silence. McCloud breathed through his nose for a moment, peering over at his slumbering son in the darkness. Finally he said, "Marcus will sense my deception so I won't lie to him. But he's asleep right now so he won't be able to talk you out of it. Just… do what you have to do. Don't go putting anyone into danger."

"You mean like your wife?"

"Exactly."

A hint of challenge came to Fara's tone. "It was _her_ plan. She's team leader, here. I've got to go. She didn't want to worry you. But I felt that telling you was the right thing to do."

"Fara, wait… what! _Krystal is going with you_??" The communication line was already closed. Fox attempted to call her back but there was no reply on the other end. He clinched the communicator in his paws and gritted his teeth. His heart began to pound furiously with worry.

His inner panic was enough to wake up Marcus. "…Dad? What's going on?"

"Our women are planning something _stupid_ without our help while we're helpless, down here and unable to leave."

Marcus blinked twice. "What're they doing? You're too emotional to read right now."

Fox gritted his teeth and snarled. "They're going to try and penetrate Venom's front line alone." He brought his paw, with the communicator, down onto the bed in anger. "And we're helpless to stop them from doing it. Now they won't answer me." He followed his complaint with a string of vituperative curse words that caused Marcus to cringe.

* * *

**Fara Phoenix approached the transport shuttle. **She lifted a paw to cover her face from a plume of steam that emanated from the landing tracks. Theodore approached from the left, wheeling his cloaking gear in on a rolling cart. The ramp lowered to the flight deck then the shuttle's double doors slid apart.

Miyu Lynx, Fay Spaniel and Asper Sarnoff came down the ramp. Fara hugged Miyu then turned to Fay. "So… Fox knows and he's royally pissed off. We'll only have one shot at this and if we screw up, Star Fox won't be able to attack the core base because they'll use us as hostages." She clapped her paws together then rubbed them vigorously. "So! How's everyone feeling?"

Fay shrugged. "I was sick early this morning, probably because I was so worried about William. But now that I know he's alive… I'm starting to feel much better. However, I won't be joining you. Too many cooks in the kitchen and I've not been trained to do anything more than fly …and get in your way, girls. To be honest, I think we should just send Asper. He explained to me, on the way over, why it would be such a good idea."

Fara scoffed vocally so that everyone present would hear it. "He can keep on dreaming," she said, not making direct eye contact with him. She didn't reply to Fay's comment about being sick but, instead, she simply nodded. "Miyu, Krystal and myself will act as recently captured pilots. Asper will take us in and lock us up. When we're with Bill, Krystal will join with him telepathically and show him the plan then Asper will come back for us. His job will be to help us escape as a group once he's reviewed their intel on operational procedures, including the layout for the base. He'll pin his wings down and dress like a Venom soldier. He's going to steal updated plans to the base to verify the intelligence Corneria currently possesses to ensure that we know of this thing's weak points. When he comes back for us, we all sneak out quietly, because he'll have rigged the security system for us to leave without a trace. If we screw up… we'll be fighting our way out tooth and nail. Is everyone comfortable with this plan?"

Miyu cracked her knuckles. "Are you kidding? I only retired from active service a few years ago because it was getting _boring_. I'm ready!"

Krystal McCloud stepped into the flight deck and approached the group from across the way. She wore a one-piece body suit with armored padding at the knees, elbows and shoulders. "I've had a breakthrough," she murmured with a nervous yet excited smile. "I think I'm starting to remember a few things that may help us. Now is the time to do it."

Asper swallowed. "Mrs. McCloud… This is going to be extremely dangerous. The likelihood of death is beyond acceptable parameters. Please, stay on GreatFox and guide us from the safety of the…"

"Fat chance," she said in a bright tone. "I'm ready for this! I'm an explorer, after all. We're here to save a man's life." She cut her gaze towards Fay and said, "Your man's life." She approached Spaniel and took her wrist. "Come with me, please?" She led Fay away from the rest of the group without offering an explanation.

Fara blinked. "What was that all about?" she asked of Miyu.

"Your guess is as good as mine," replied the feline. "At least we'll have a telepath with us."

"Yeah… about that," Fara trailed off with a frown. She paused, recalling how Krystal immediately recognized Fay as Bill's girlfriend then shrugged. "Like she said… she had a breakthrough. Never a bad thing, I guess. I just hope she's ready for this." She began to wonder if Krystal was getting her telepathic abilities back. '_One could only hope_,' she thought with a frown.

"You worry too much." Miyu walked around the shuttle and began helping Theodore to ready it for stealth capabilities. Asper sighed, sitting down on the ramp.

Fara grinned. "What's wrong, big guy? You speak Venom, you fight your tail off… you'll fit right in with your wings tied down beneath your uniform. In fact, I doubt they would care that you have wings one way or the other. What's the big worry?"

"If anything were to happen to any of you three…"

Fara offered an admonishing glare. "Get a clue, lizard lips. We're going to give Venom the shock of their lives. I sat down with Krystal an hour ago and, with a little patience, she managed to join with my mind and I showed her everything I could about what I teach you. I've given Miyu personal lessons for about four years now. What more could you want?"

"Proof that the three of you will be safe."

Fay returned, having overheard the two talking. She approached Asper and placed a paw on his arm. "Without them, you'll have no hostages to capture. If you're not bringing them to the core base as prisoners, you would have no military reason to be on that base and so you wouldn't belong as staff… and you wouldn't be able to infiltrate it. But, you're playing the part of an unknown Venom soldier from the edge of the system… who managed to catch three Cornerians, one of which is the wife of Fox McCloud… and so they will welcome you onto that base with open arms and make you a hero and bring you into their ranks. This is a cleverly designed production, and it's the _only_ chance we'll have to rescue William."

Asper Sarnoff nodded slowly. "I have a great respect for General Grey. He's an honorable leader and took Corneria through one of its worst and most destructive wartime disasters. No one else could have provided such leadership after the old Capital City was decimated last year. I'm only doing this to rescue him."

Krystal returned as well and nodded to Fara.

Phoenix tilted her head. "What was all that about?"

Krystal looked back at Fay, smiled, then told the fennec, "I'll tell you later when the time is appropriate. But know this… it's now more imperative we rescue Bill Grey… now… more than ever. For personal reasons. Let's get ready." She brought a paw to her muzzle and shouted up to the front of the craft. "How much longer, you two?"

Theodore called back, "About thirty minutes. Go and suit up, girls. The whole lot of you had better come back in one piece or Marcus is going to flip a lid." He turned back towards Miyu and the two of them lifted some sort of metallic device up into an open panel beneath the shuttle's cockpit.

Fara took a deep breath and expelled it calmly. "I'm more worried for Miyu and Krystal," she said to Asper. "The two of us have worked together on Titania, those two are a fresh variable to the equation… Listen, Gunnery Sergeant Sarnoff, this is your final exam so far as I'm concerned. You'll be working with three women. If we all return safely, you pass. You'll take over as an instructor on my program. I'll oversee it for the first year… but if you can do this without having a nervous breakdown… I'll deem you worthy and ready."

He tightened his jaw then nodded. "I would appreciate it. I'm going to be step-fathering Jamie McCloud. Making me an instructor and having me promoted would help the family situation. I've never been a family man before but I'm ready to try it. After all, Violet and I have decided that we would like to try our hand at marriage next year. Nothing official yet… but it would certainly help the situation if I wasn't being sent into suicide missions several times a week."

Fara grinned. "That's a big change from the Asper I knew a few months ago."

"Yeah… well…" He paused then frowned, adding, "Yes, Instructor Phoenix… pardon my lack of protocol, I'm just…"

She lifted a paw and used her fingertips to force his maw shut. "Hush. You're fine. If we get through this mission alive… we'll be on a first name basis. Understood?" He nodded, with her paw still upon his mouth. She smiled. "Good boy. Anything else anyone wants to say?"

Krystal nodded slowly. "Fay, could you call Miyu over here and help Theodore to finish his preparations? I think the four of us should sit down quietly and join together. If we're all on the same page at the same time… it would better our chances."

"You can do that?" asked Asper.

"Yes… I've had a small breakthrough. I'm ready to try it with all of us."

Fara tilted her head. "You're sure this is a good idea?"

"Yes." Krystal offered a smile and Fay walked to the front of the ship to send Miyu back to the group. All four of them headed up the shuttle ramp and sat down in a circle. Krystal had everyone join paws, close their eyes and clear their minds… "I'm sorry if this gets a little weird for any of you. But trust me when I tell you that it's for the best. Not only that, we'll have to rehearse some lines because this will require for them to believe us.

"Everyone thinks StarFox is dead," said Miyu. "You and Fara will have to act like you're the only survivors and when you see Dash Bowman, you've both got to look angry and bitter." She linked paws with everyone else as they settled on the deck of the transporter.

Fara joined the circle. "I have a makeup kit handy. We'll use it to look as though Asper has roughed us up… black eye, bruised muzzle… that sort of thing."

Krystal nodded in reply then announced, "Let's begin."

* * *

**Dash Bowman turned around and glanced at the man in the doorway.** "What did you just say?"

The marmoset swallowed and saluted again. "I said that one of our men from the outer rim came here with prisoners sir. It's highly outside of protocol but he said they're critical priority prisoners and he seeks to barter with you for a _promotion_. He said he was one of Oikonny's men but we can't find any information on him."

"Who the hell are the prisoners that they're so damn important?"

"Three females, my liege. One of them is Krystal McCloud, another is Fara Phoenix. The third is a woman named Miyu Lynx."

"They're still alive?" Dash blinked, his jaw dropping wide. "Bring them all here in laser chains immediately!" He watched the simian run out the door. Dash clinched his hands into fists. "This is _too_ perfect." He waited a short while then the door swished back open. A soldier with a large coat came into the room. He led Fara Phoenix, Miyu Lynx and Krystal McCloud in and lined them up by the wall.

The blue-furred one gritted her teeth and glared over at Dash, muttering, "You cold bastard, that was my _son_ and my_ husband_ your people killed back there. Goddess help you if I escape." She glanced at Sarnoff who approached with an elevated fist. She quickly grew quiet and lowered her head.

Fara also looked up, muttering, "Marcus _trusted you_, Bowman. He saved your life back during the attack on Shrey-Lek, last year (Ref of New Gen) and this is how you repaid him? By _having him murdered_?" She'd been rehearsing her lines on the shuttle ride over and now that she was speaking them, she secretly praised herself for how believable she sounded.

Asper approached Phoenix and shouted, "HEAD DOWN, CORNERIAN!" He waited until she lowered her head then he turned to Dash and saluted. "My liege. As you can see, Empress Kursed's men have failed to kill _all_ of the StarFox team members. I found the two vixens being helped by the feline. They escaped Titania and came through my sector. They are the _only_ survivors. The rest are assuredly dead."

"How did you capture them?"

"I damanged their transport shuttle. They fled into the asteroid belt but reemerged from it and made an emergency landing on nearby Fortuna. I waited until they made camp and turned in for the night. They're extremely dangerous but I felt that by bringing them to you I was in the position to elevate my status by demonstrating my military prowess and loyalty to Venom's cause."

Dash brought a hand to his chin, stroking the white facial whiskers. "Yes… I cannot deny that I am impressed. I could use someone with your abilities and with your patience and dedication to planning. After all, you've outwitted a telepath and a trained _special forces_ instructor."

Fara's head lifted somewhat, suppressing the surprise she felt at Dash's knowledge.

He saw her eyes on him and laughed. With a smirk, Bowman approached her. "What? You didn't think anyone knew? Stupid girl. My telepath could read Bill Grey's mind from half a light year away!" He glanced back at Asper. "We thought Phoenix to be dead until now… but Corneria most assuredly won't attack with our four new 'friends' and so… they'll stay here as our guests until I no longer require them…"

Next, Bowman cut his gaze to Miyu, remembering her from the communication to Corneria early that morning. "You thought you were pretty clever, earlier… not so much now, are you? But I looked into your claim… and you're right. My grandfather's administration is apparently at fault for the murder of my mother. You've saved Bill Grey from the airlock fate but that doesn't mean his destiny won't have a similar outcome."

Finally, he looked over at Krystal. "Fox McCloud would have given his everything to have you back; it doesn't much matter since he and his pest of a son are _dead_. Oh, don't worry… you'll join them soon enough then you can all be together again… one big happy _dead_ family. The McClouds, the population of Cerinia… all together again, won't that be nice?" To Bowman's words, the little blue vixen spit at him. Asper began to turn towards her with his fist drawn but Bowman blocked the lizard, guiding him away. The small-stature simian sneered at her then clinched his teeth together. "Yes, you'll all be dead… Perhaps I'll leave that business transaction up to the likes of _my_ General, Kursed."

He placed an arm around Asper and led the lizard away. "You've done well. However, I'm very short staffed at this time. I'm running this base on a skeleton crew for the time being. Just a minor set back, mind you. I'll promote you to something more becoming. Don't fret about your status or paperwork with Andrew's forces… we've combined and a lot of paperwork was lost in that shuffle. We'll create a fresh file for you so worry not. Please, join me in my personal quarters and dine as my esteemed guest of honor. Also, for now, while we're short handed, do me the favor of being the personal warden in charge of our guests."

Asper offered a semi glare. "A simple jailor, my liege?"

Dash nodded. "I know you came here looking for glory but, for now, it's where I require assistance the most. We'll worry about promotion details in the near future, I promise you."

"Very well, Emperor Bowman. Would you like me to lead them back to their cell now?"

"No, let a robotic sentry take them there for the time being. Dine with me in my personal quarters. You can visit your 'clientele' in a while; they'll be your personal responsibility when you return to duty. Come with me."

* * *

**Bill Grey looked up, horrified.** He hurried to the bars, causing the metallic chain links between his ankles and wrists to rattle. Seeing Miyu _here_ meant she'd disobeyed an order and got herself captured but at the same time he felt relief, seeing the two vixens. "Krystal, Fara… you're both alive!" He cut his gaze to Miyu. "I was told that Kursed had StarFox killed." He turned back to Miyu then sighed having seen her only eight hours ago on Corneria. "Did you try staging some sort of…" He trailed off then said, "Promise me you didn't bring Fay into this mess. She's all right, isn't she?"

Miyu nodded, being guided first into the cell. As she passed into the small room, the particle beam linking her collar to the other girls' collars dissipated. "She's safer than anywhere else in Lylat." Lynx took a seat on a wooden bench across from Bill. Fara and Krystal walked in next, with their collars un-joining as well. They settled on the floor, backs against the wall. Laser bars replaced the gap at the front of the cell and the guard sentry backed away then disappeared down the hallway.

Once it was completely gone, Fara tilted her head and used those large fennec ears to listen. Silence. She offered a nod to Krystal who crawled across the floor, approaching Bill. Without a word, she reached her paws up and gently touched either side of Bill's head. The General's eyes widened then… he relaxed his body all at once and slumped into her touch.

"Is that what we looked like when she did it to us?" Miyu whispered to Fara. Phoenix replied with a mere shrug, watching in interest. Silence.

From her spot on the floor, Krystal telepathically joined with Bill in order to explain the plan to him without speaking it aloud. Once upon a time she had the ability to pass thoughts back and forth between herself and the mind of a non-telepath _without_ physical contact… but having just relearned this base trait, she needed her paws to successfully make contact.

Several moments passed and Bill appeared to wilt away from her, panting as if he'd just run a marathon. He blinked several times then looked at Krystal as though he now barely recognized her. "W…why did you appear as a teenager when I saw you in my mind just now? You were in a blue dress… I saw you the way Fox described seeing you in his dreams, back in the Academy (A/N: _Chapter 1, Reflections of Fox McCloud_)."

"It's a long story…"

Miyu nodded. "Long story short, she lost all of her memories back to when she was a teenage girl. What you saw is how she sees herself because that's how she remembers seeing herself. We saw her that way too, earlier. Pretty lil' thing, wasn't she?"

Bill stiffened a bit but was still slouched on the floor. "God this is all so confusing. Sometimes I wonder if the Goddess really has a plan or not. I can't make heads or tails of what's going on. But… so long as Fay is safe." He looked back to Krystal. "I… did I see that right? In …the joining we just did? Fay is there with everyone else?"

Krystal lifted her paw and placed a single fingertip against Bill's soft black lips, her fingernail right at the camber to his moist nose. "Don't say it outloud, just in case. She's precisely there, with those who would give their lives to protect her. It's safer than being on Corneria; after all, you weren't safe on Corneria, now were you? But yes, Bill, she is safe in her current location with her present company. And… there is more… something you apparently didn't 'see' from our short joining. But I'll let _her_ be the one to tell you. Don't worry upon it though."

"I don't like surprises," he murmured. "Not anymore."

"You'll like this one," said Krystal, coming to her feet. "Let's just say… I now know that you were planning to ask Fay to marry you. So, by all means, do it. I promise you that she'll say yes. For now, we all need to stay calm and relax. Our 'jailer' will be back to check on us later. Let's not start a fuss."

Fara nodded in agreement. "Everyone, Krystal is in charge here, but I'm the logistical and technical supervisor. And the most logical logistical thing we can do right now is to rest our bodies. So… everyone, close your eyes and focus on something simplistic, like the number 'one'. Visualize it in three dimensions and rotate it slowly. Study every angle of the simplistic image you've chosen… before long, your mind will be in a Zen state of alpha rest. That's an order, everyone."

The room grew silent for the time being.

* * *

**Fox McCloud's fingertips traced the outer hull** plating jutting up out of the ground. His ears perked, hearing his son speak then he cut his gaze to the far end. He could see Marcus' tail up in the air and watched as the younger male disappeared beneath the metal section. Fox came around and saw where there was a very slight trench in the ground from a rut made in the Macbeth surface. He knelt down and, with a grunt, began to crawl beneath the ship.

"Geeze," said Fox softly, "I'm going to get my stupid business suit all messed up." He continued to crawl along, barely able to see Marcus' tail anymore from the darkness. A moment later, he could seem light up ahead. He couldn't stop thinking about his wife and her plan to cause trouble over Venom. Worry nagged at the back of his mind but he did his best to stifle it and keep the mission tasks at hand.

Dull afternoon sunlight filtered in through a dusty porthole window. The section of the craft opened up, revealing to them that it was rather extensive in size. Going beneath the surface over forty feet, they emerged from ductwork in the wall. The section of the craft was surprisingly upside-right with a group of square looking boxes along the far wall.

Marcus dusted himself off then pulled a flashlight out and pointed it at the metallic panels. "They look like computer servers or something. Funny how so many computers can have common design similarities." He approached the middle of three refrigerator-sized boxes and ran his paws along it until he found a latch. It opened on metal hinges that offered only the softest hint of a squeak. "Not bad… she kept her stuff clean and well maintained."

Inside, there were panels and microchips. The metallic siding was lined with fans for proper air-cooling. All along the bottom, there were rows upon rows of what looked like hard drives. Marcus withdrew his paw and fetched the ultra-portable laptop that Slippy had designed for use as an interface.

"It won't work, Marcus," said Fox with a chuckle. "Don't be naïve, it's separated from the reactor core."

Marcus smirked at his father then stepped aside, using a free paw to hold the hinged bezel wide open. He nodded to a small illuminated LED on the exposed motherboard, which was mounted to a sliding tray for easy removal. "We've all grown up around computers, dad. I think you know what _that_ means," he said in reference to the small green dot of light. The boy made his way towards the cloudy porthole and withdrew his blaster.

"Good idea," murmured Fox. "I wonder what's on those drives? I mean… if Kursed kept her entire historical database on there… she'd have information about the Kew, Cerinia, Sauria, Lylat and anywhere else she'd visited _after_ leaving Lylat."

"I'm curious to see what's on there, too." Marcus changed the settings to narrow beam, medium yield then he shot out the porthole and holstered his sidearm. He brought the small laptop back out from beneath his right arm, opened it again and placed a flashlight into his muzzle. With his father's help, he sought out the connection ports and plugged an accessory into the tiny folding computer in his right paw. "Hey… that… that was easy."

"You got something?"

"I think these drives are in standby mode but they're solid state so I can access them without a big draw on power. Hold tight." He began scanning through the directories, using a translator to change the words. "There's a _lot_ of information here. I mean, we're talking self-help guides to just about anything, not just stuff about Cerinia. I've got technology research from bounties that span all sorts of distant races. Maybe we could use this stuff or something… Hmm."

He continued to dabble with the graphical user interface, bouncing through various file folders at random until coming to one about his mother's staff. He opened the file and skimmed the contents. All at once, Marcus balked in surprise. "Wait, _what_? According to this, the staff's technology actually comes _from_ Sauria. How in the hell is _that_ possible? It was given to mom when she lived on Cerinia. What the hell?"

"Good question," Fox mused. "Quite a coincidence but it would explain why the staff is technically compatible with so much stuff on Sauria."

"Wait, dad…" Marcus quirked a brow, reread several lines then looked back at Fox. "According to this, there is genetic proof that both modern Lylat people _and_ Cerinian people… both descended from the Krazoa, dating back a million years ago. Apparently they left their planet and spread out… beyond just the nearest planets in Lylat… but also as far as Kew and Cerinia. I mean… I guess that explains why you and mom, from two different systems… were genetically compatible to mate… and believe me, I'm glad I was born… but this is where it gets interesting." He waved his father closer then re-opened information on the genetics file that showed the DNA similarities between the three races. Marcus brought up a box that displayed file properties. The name of the file originator was… _Dr. Andross_.

* * *

A/N: _I have a surprise for you in chapter 13. I'm in the middle of writing it right now. There are two huge fight scenes involving the babes of Star Fox fighting tooth and nail, so if you really like seeing chicks in action, especially in hand-to-hand situations… Chapter 13 is going to deliver the GOODS, baby! YEAH! Lol._

_I'll go and finish that chapter now. It's going to be intense and complex. Fire 'n brimstone, gang! In the next chapter, Fara takes the spotlight for a while then Krystal takes the spotlight for a while, as it will become up to Krystal to lead the jailbreak. Let's hope they're successful… I've had good guys lose plenty of times before, right? I AM notorious for that sort of stuff, after all… Okay, thirteen will be out VERY soon!_

_In that chapter, I'll explain the origins of Lylat, Cerinia, etc. I'll also get more into this new development that concerns Bill and Fay Spaniel. Originally, I wasn't going to have anyone know. I was just going to point out Fay being sick and stuff. I was going to wait until like, chapter 15 or something, then throw it out there when Krystal tells Fara why she led Fay away from the group to talk... But you guys are smart, you'd have figured it out thirty seconds into this chapter I'm sure... so I just... decided to be blunt about it, lol. Also, thanks to the guys at StarFox Online forums for cheering up my day, LOL. OKAY! THANKS FOR READING! _

_-K_


	13. The John Dillinger Escape Plan

A/N: _Hey gang, thanks for the two emails and the PM about how much you hate when girls take center stage and win! (This is in regards to my author's note in C12) I know, I know… a bunch of chicks fighting and stuff. How "Mary Sue" of me, right? I was going to call this chapter "Krystal Sue Squadron" as a joke but more happens than just a bunch of women fighting their way out of a Core Base. I know there's a few female readers out there that might have seen the chapter synopsis today and been drawn in, because I know of a few female readers who seek out just such things in a story. You know what I have to say to that? GOOD! For everyone out there who absolutely cannot STAND when I have a female character come in and save the day… feel free to skip the parts that portray such things in today's chapter. I won't hold it against you. And yes, there are a few of you misogynist troglodytes still out there. Thanks for the two emails and the Private Message! _

_OKAY! Now, I went THIRTEEN MONTHS without an update. Then I posted chapter 12. To make it up to you for waiting this long… I've decided to write a crazy chapter. SO! I'll do my _best_ to try and leave you emotionally drained by the end of this update. Time to have our heroes escape, fight their way out tooth and nail then rescue our other heroes. Then everyone can be reunited with the ones they love, all safe and sound. Well, maybe not EVERYone. At least not yet. Let's see what happens, shall we? _

_HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukah, Winter Solstice, day of gathering, etc. I started on this chapter on Christmas Eve and didn't stop writing until it was Christmas morning. Both Fara AND Krystal take center stage at one point or another in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

_

Chapter -13-  
"_The Dillinger Express_"

**The food bowl had old fashion paper stuck to the bottom**. Fara peeled the paper away from the bottom of the warm bowl and read, '_Dash has plans that require research. Ostensible reports of Anglar forces possessing a shipyard on the ocean floor of Venom create immeasurable concerns. I request permission to stay here and infiltrate them in order to conduct my research; I will not join you on your escape._'

She lifted her head and nodded twice to Asper on the other side of the bars. Then in a quiet yet enunciated voice, she said, "There's toilet paper stuck to the bottom of my bowl – is that how you people treat your prisoners?" She rolled up the paper, moist from the condensation that had caused it to stick to her bowl in the first place. It disintegrated in her palms, destroying evidence of its existence.

He licked his lips then, with a believable sneer, he told her, "Get used to it, Cornerian. Emperor Bowman has given me a message for you. Your morale is too high. He requests me to take you down a peg or two the way he broke Bill Grey's spirit the night of his arrival." The lizard-hybrid had a tell… The slight crease in his facial expression told Fara that he wasn't interested in such a fight. "I'll knock your pretty little tail out cold; no worries, Cornerian, you'll wind up in the _medical ward_." He said it in a way that suggested to Fara he wanted her to lose the fight and wind up in sickbay so as to make a safer escape plan.

Fara shook her head. "No way. After I flatten you, I'll take the red-eye." It was obvious that she was using a term popular in her father's travel industry… a Red Eye flight was the name of the last flight out of an airport… In this sense, Fara meant that she knew the flight deck wasn't far from the detention center. It was the closest and most direct route.

"No," he said, looking frustrated. "You'll be in the _medical bay_."

"No," she replied. "_You_ will be. I'll be dealing with my red eye."

"Cornerian, you _really_ need to listen better when you're told something."

Fara smirked, seeing that he was going to try and make the plan go his way because he obviously believed in it. "No, it's the reptiles that never listen to _reason_, which is why they were so damn eager to follow Andross in the first place, thirty damn years ago."

He opened the laser bars and drew her out of the cell by the scruff of her neck. He closed the bars behind himself and said, "No, you're doing things _my_ way and that's the _end of it_. Trust me, it's for the _best_."

She wiggled to put on a good show, having her heels dragged across the deck. "No, I beg to differ. I _know_ what's best for _me_. But we'll let fate decide if I wind up in that medical bay or not. I don't think you can put me there anyhow."

Asper threw her to the floor and removed the weapon from his belt. He tossed it into an empty cell where Fara wouldn't be able to retrieve it. "If you were thinking about disarming me of my weapon… you no longer have access to it, Cornerian. You're going to the _medical ward_ because it's the _only_ way."

"Not today, pal," she said. "Today, I'm passing GO and I'm going to collect two hundred dollars. It's the most simple and direct way."

Finally, their gaze locked and neither was ready to budge on this unspoken plan. Asper drew in a slow breath and said, "Then I'll just have to force you there so you can see the light… You need to see that women aren't _always_ _right_ and one day you'll finally learn that. It'll be _your_ biggest lesson." Again, he took her by the throat in his left hand.

"Bring it on," she said, wiggling in his grip. He brought his other hand up, now holding either side of her throat in an attempt to choke her into unconsciousness. Fara lifted her paws and, with a quick motion, she used her palms to push inwards on his wrist then jerked them apart. It forced him to drop her. She landed on her feet and pointed to the camera, backing away from him slowly. "Your Emperor is watching. This is it, right here, hisser… all the _cards_ and _chips_ on the table… this is for _all the winnings_." It was her way of telling him that this, right here and right now, was his final exam. He had to best her in order to have the plan go his way and he now knew it. It was the same test she gave him last time… the '_non-lethal takedown of his instructor_.'

"I won't let you get away with this. You _have_ to see things _my_ way. You're headed to medical."

"No I'm not… but _you_ are," she said, cracking her knuckles. Over in the cell with the laser bars, Bill woke up to the sounds of their conversation. He crawled over and nudged Miyu and Krystal to wake them. They sat up and quickly came about, seeing the hybrid lizard-avian squaring off against Fara Phoenix in the hallway. The fennec fluffed her hair and put it back in a ponytail. "C'mon, half-breed. Show me what you've got. If you want me in medical so bad… you're going to have to _put me there_, cause I'm not going down without a fight, since I _know_ that _my way_ is _better_ for _me_."

"So be it," he growled in frustration. He knew that if Fara was going be taken to the sickbay, she would have a much easier time escaping because the medical section was close to the armory.

Fara, on the other hand, remembered the lay out. She knew that the _only_ thing between the flight deck and the detention center was a long hall with a single intersection halfway to the goal. It was the most direct route and required the least amount of time to escape. "I heard reptiles fight like sissies," she said with a daring grin.

The lizard snorted and reached for the hem of his coat. He gave it a firm tug then lifted his fists. "Very well. If that's the way it must be. I didn't think you'd be so stubborn."

"We all have good intentions and yours was noble and thoughtful," she said in a low tone. "But I've already made my decision. Whoever winds up in sickbay is the loser. We've been through this two other times."

"Third time is the charm," he murmured. He lunged for her, taking her by the wrist. She lifted her leg, using her shin to block his up-thrust knee. He brought his second hand forward and she snatched his fist in her palm. Asper then shifted his weight and threw her by the wrist.

Fara landed on her feet with her left paw on the deck to steady herself. She rolled forward, came up quickly and swept her foot out. He leapt over her leg, brought his foot up but she blocked it with her left forearm. She pushed off of her crouched right leg and pushed her right fist out, knocking him down onto the deck.

While on his back, he kicked his legs up, catching the fennec in her shoulders and launching her body back. She struck one of the jail cell bars adjacent to the laser gate. He changed her and she was ready. The vixen brought her paws up and, using only her upper body strength, clinched the metal bars in her fists and pulled her lower half upwards. Her legs met his neck in mid-charge.

She twisted her hips, throwing all of her body weight into the maneuver. With her thighs around his throat, she was able to flip him sideways onto the metallic deck. Her hips came down on the deck plate hard, sure to leave a bruise. Meanwhile, she locked her ankles, trying to put him into some sort of sleeper hold while he struggled beneath her.

The coat he wore ripped and his wings came free. He flapped them hard, pushing himself from the floor then he wrapped them around himself, using the ends to strike at her legs. Next, he brought his fists up, grabbed her by the calves and brought the underside of her knees down upon his shoulders. Carefully coming to his feet, Asper opened his stance then turned about.

Fara, holding onto his neck with her legs, found herself spun about until her head collided with a nearby wall. She dropped to the floor with a groan but impressed by his tenacity. She eased up onto an elbow, rolled over and came to her feet. She knew he'd take the opportunity to strike because this time he _wanted_ to win. Her large, keen, fennec ears flitted.

Hearing his approach, she tensed up in the crouch then, quite suddenly she jumped up. Her shoulder met his jaw, slamming his maw shut. He staggered backwards, caught off guard. Again, Fara's ears twitched; her eyes lowered to a tooth rattling across the deck.

Like the fox that she was, Fara sprung into the air and pounced him from above. With Sarnoff still temporarily dazed, she managed to bring him to the floor hard. The vixen sat tall, perched upon his chest throwing rapid punches. He blocked several of them and tried to kick at the back of her head. She arched her back to absorb his leg strike before his boot could reach her head.

Lying flat on his back, Asper's wings rose from the deck and struck at either side of Fara's waist. The double-kidney shot caused her to cringe, leaving him with precious seconds to turn things around. He reached for her neck with his left hand and her gut with his right. The reptile threw her to the floor nearby. He quickly got to his feet.

The left-handed hybrid ripped off his coat and wrapped the sleeves around her neck. Her head cleared and she brought two fists to his gut then another punch into his crotch. Fara's eyes widened when her knuckles met solid metal beneath his pants. Her other paw followed through with another strike to his gut. Rather suddenly her body was lifted from the floor by her throat. He cocked his left arm back then threw her body across the room. Her inverted frame slammed against the concrete wall between cell frames. The fennec dropped to the deck, motionless with calm, shallow breathing. Her tail was draped over one leg and her ears were lowered.

Sarnoff approached her cautiously, ignoring the angry jeers and taunts from the Cornerians in the cell across the hall. He picked her up by the collar of her shirt and reached for her wrist, pulling it behind her back as he eased her from the floor.

Ready and alert, Fara brought her free paw up, grabbed at the backside of his head, then brought both of her knees up, meeting his face with them. Both fighters dropped to the deck. She went for the sheath on his boot but was surprised to find that it was empty. She used her other paw to locate a knife on his hip but came up empty-handed.

Asper, lying face down on the ground, brought a wing up. It struck her flat in the face and threw her back up against the concrete wall. The backside of her head slammed into the painted cinderblocks, causing a section to cave in. A hole, about the size of her head, was left in the wall.

She reached to the left for the closest cell bars and pulled herself away from him but not before swinging her legs. He was ready and deflected the strike with the same wing he'd just used on her. Next, he grabbed her ankle and pivoted his body with a shift of his upper body mass. She found herself skidding down the deck on her back.

Fara, sprawled out like a snow angel, sat up with a blink to get at herself. She saw him charging down the hall towards her. Phoenix carefully timed her actions. She reached up for his incoming body and rolled backwards. Her palm met his upper torso, her other met his waistline. She tucked her feet up between his thighs with her shoe beneath his tail. Rolling backwards and using his momentum against him, she hurled him head over heels.

His wings opened. Asper glided to the deck then over-righted himself much to her dismay. He charged at her and she got to her feet. Knowing she'd expect a straight on attack, he bolted to the left, towards the wall. He put his foot up on the bulkhead then kicked his other leg out, striking her just above the shoulder. His foot connected behind her head but her arms simultaneously came up to his extended leg.

She plucked him from the air, instinctively locking one arm around the backside of his knee. Her other came up to his belt, fingers clawing for purchase. In that instant, her toppling body pulled him down with her. The sloppy sideways suplex brought his face to the metal surface beneath them. She found herself lying on his wings.

To the woman's surprise, he lifted the powerful appendages, literally throwing her across the hallway. Her face met metal bars and she clung to them to keep from falling to the floor again. Asper quickly returned to his feet then spun about, using his wings to lash at her lower back. A clawed tip at the edge of the wing tore through her silver aviator jacket.

She pushed her feet off the bars and reached back. Her paws met his head and she clung to him. With her weight, she pulled his body forward. Her head naturally came to rest on his shoulder; she used her own shoulder to force his face into the deck plating, shattering another tooth from his maw.

He flopped over and used the blunt force and heavy weight of his tail to strike her. His tail met with the side of her face just as she was lifting her head. It knocked her back against the nearby bars, dazing her from the strike to the left and right size of her face.

Asper got to his feet and reached for her collar. He lifted her by the shirt and closed his wings tightly around them both, pulling her face into his tactical vest. She could breathe through her nose. However, with all the pressure on her back and chest, pinned to him by the wings, she found it difficult to inflate her lungs. She forced her head up until she could feel the front of her throat mashed against gortex. Her chin rested on his collarbone and her torso was crushed against his from the powerful featherless wings. It was like trying to suck a breath of air through a coffee stirring straw.

Relaxing her body, the fennec preserved her oxygen but her chest still burned for a fresh breath. Between the wooziness of multiple head strikes and the lack of oxygen, she struggled to hold out. She was being smothered but, at the same time, he kept pressure on her torso instead of her face.

With his jaw resting atop of her head, he whispered into her ear. "That's it, Instructor Phoenix… just relax your body. You'll wake up in medical soon, then you'll see what I've put you there. It's the only way. You'll thank me for this later."

Survival instincts kicked in. To his immeasurable surprise, with a sudden burst of fresh adrenaline, Fara locked her jaws around his neck and bit down as tightly as she could clamp. Blood ran down over her face as she increased the pressure of her bite in an attempt to save herself.

The reptile's eyes widened in realization that such a maneuver could become far more lethal than he'd intended to come from this fight. His wings opened and his hands came up to grapple with the top and bottom of her muzzle. He attempted to pry her strong jaw apart but she refused to let go. With no options left, he broke into a hard sprint until her body collided with an activated cell gate. The laser bars met her body, sending electrical voltage coursing through her form and into his.

The powerful electricity was spread evenly throughout both of them. She attempted to cry out when the last of the air was pushed from her lungs. Their bodies were thrown apart. Asper lay on the floor, clutching at his bloody throat. Supercharged on fresh adrenaline, she drew in a deep, satisfying breath of air and sprinted towards him. Fara grabbed him by the clothes and ran him across the hall with all of her strength. She launched him into another activated laser gate then careened into the adjacent metal bars to stop herself from hitting them.

Fara Phoenix dropped to her knees, panting heavily. Asper Sarnoff, electrocuted, charred and bleeding, lay adjacent to her. His body was otherwise uninjured. She saw no signs of bruising or swelling. Even his relaxed breathing didn't sound labored. She continued to pant, heaving her entire chest with each breath. "You're a resilient bastard," she wheezed.

She plucked a canteen from his gear and used the water within to wash the blood from her face. She gargled with the last of it and spit it out, still panting through her nose. Fara ran her paws over his body to find out where his pockets were located. Her moist nose met the side of his face and, in a soft voice, she told him, "If you make it out of here, you've passed your test. I wouldn't have won if I couldn't have electrocuted you. Stay as long as you're able – we need a good man on the inside." Her words went on deaf ears.

Her paw went to his neck to inspect the unconscious man's wound. "Good Goddess," she murmured. "That bite mark would have torn out the throat of a normal opponent." However, the lizard's thick skin and recessed arteries surely saved his life. Phoenix checked his pockets. When she came to the right one, she gave a firm tug on the fabric, ripping the pocket open. The passkey dropped into her other paw. She opened the cell; the laser bars disappeared. "Everyone, let's move! We don't have a lot of time."

Bill waddled out of the cell in his chains, while Krystal and Miyu came up behind him. Next, Fara opened the other cell and retrieved the blaster on the floor. She adjusted the settings on it and shot the chains between Bill's feet and paws, destroying one of the links for each set of shackles so that he could move. The four escapees hurried down the hallway.

"We'll need weapons," said Krystal as they quickly passed empty cells. Almost all the cells had bars but each one's gate consisted of an empty section with laser-bar emitters in the floor and ceiling. Fara approached one of the bars of an arbitrary cell. She shot at the top and bottom of a random bar, using a tight beam setting to cut the metallic pole . It dropped forward and Fara caught it in her empty palm. With her other, she gave the blaster a playful spin by its trigger guard. The fennec handed the pole towards Miyu.

"Best I can do for now," said Fara. Krystal came adjacent to a door marked "Confiscated." She waited for Fara to damage the door with the blaster she procured then the lithe blue vixen reached in and took a small metallic wand within.

McCloud gripped it firmly in her palm, causing it to expand in a telescopic way. The full-length staff was about the same length as the one that Miyu had, which was made out of a metallic cell bar. "We're ready," murmured Krystal. "How are you holding up?" she asked of Fara.

The fennec shook her head. "I'll be fine."

Krystal approached her, placing her free paw on Fara's face, pushing back short, soft strands of fur along her muzzle. She noticed the dark bruises and frowned. "That'll sting later on." She checked each of Fara's joints, watching the younger vixen occasionally wince. Krys shook her head with a sigh. "Why did you even FIGHT him?"

"He wanted me to visit the medical bay, because he felt it would be the safest place to be, so I could fight my way out of this base. But we're two minutes from the flight deck and I have help. His plan was flawed." Fara took a minute to calibrate the sights on her recently acquired blaster, adding, "He just didn't see it that way. I told him, more or less, if he can PUT me in medical, I'll go with his plan… else HE's going there and we're escaping with _my_ plan." She offered a wan smile. "And for once, he actually put his heart into the fight with me. I'm impressed… and I was _lucky_. His natural endurance is far superior."

Bill grumbled in disagreement. "It was a waste of time while enemy troops prepared and gathered their gear. If you'd have listened to him, Fara, we'd be in much better shape. They would underestimate you and the rest of us… and you'd have come from the sickbay, which is adjacent to the armory. I know because I've been to medical three times in the last few days."

Fara shook he head with a sigh. "Too late now. Let's just get out of here."

The group headed to a door leading out of the detention facility. A long hallway stretched ahead of them with arrows on the floor. Miyu turned to the group. "The forward arrow says, '_this way to the flight deck_' but the intersecting arrows lead to personal barracks. Asper was right… we'd probably _need_ guns to get beyond this hallway…"

"Calm down," said Krystal, "They're waiting for us."

"Wait, what?" Fara blinked. She cocked her head, using one of her ears to listen. "Where? And how can you tell? I thought your abilities were…?"

"I can sense a lot of aggression just around the corner. With you injured and Bill even more so than yourself… we won't be able to just run through. We'll have to fight. Everyone, take weapons from any guard that you dispatch. They're our armory. I've got my staff; I'll lead the way. Fall back behind me." Krystal took point, her staff held at the ready. "Asper was also right to initially have me bring this along; you underestimate his strategy, Fara. I'm glad he put it in the prisoner confiscation room for us."

"Perhaps you're right," said Phoenix softly as the quartet slowly approached the intersection in the long, empty hall. She sniffed at the air. "I smell reptiles but I can't tell how far away they are. This base is full of them, after all."

"They're… close." Krystal frowned. "Very… very close."

Fara aimed the weapon around the corner. Her eyes widened, seeing the number of men waiting in their tactical gear with tight, closed ranks. She glanced over her shoulder, the other way down the intersecting hallway. "Not good!"

Bill stepped out into the intersection and gritted his teeth. "If we had flashbangs and incendiary rounds from the _armory_…"

She swallowed. "I'm woman enough to admit when I'm wrong."

Krystal and Miyu stepped into the intersection, coming back to back. The PA squealed softly, causing most everyone to flinch. Dash Bowman's voice came over the speakers. "They've put up a daring fight and narrowly escaped. It took a great deal of effort for them to take down just one lizard. There are only four of them and there are many of you! Bring them to me so that they can learn the true meaning of _SUFFERING_!"

Both sides broke into a timed military sprint, careful not to step on one another's feet. They charged, with the front line bringing bayonet rifles to bear. Instinctively, Bill opened his arms as if to protect the three females by taking the brunt of the damage.

Krystal shoved him aside, lifted her staff into the air and brought it down to the deck plates with all of her strength. The energy discharge of the simulated 'super-quake' feature caused the floor to ripple and the bulkheads to crack. All the enemy soldiers came crashing down like dominoes.

Miyu crawled across the lumpy metallic deck, snatched two guns and ripped the bayonets out. She tossed one to Bill and turned around to face the men behind the quartet. She was the first to open fire, shooting at the front line of men while they were down.

Krystal rushed towards the other group, changing the staff settings to the freeze setting. A blast of winter gushed from the tip, enshrouding the pile of enemies in front. Their cold-blooded bodies caused them to ice over in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, Bill and Fara turned away from Krystal and joined Miyu in shooting as many men as they could before the group to get to their feet and resume an attack.

Return fire came from the back of the group. Once Krystal was finished creating a literal wall of ice, she turned her attention on the men on the other side. She pushed the base of the staff into the floor, leaned it towards the hallway and charged it. The staff propelled her forward. She activated the shield and became a glowing blue bullet that plowed through the line of adversaries. Again, they were knocked back, dazed and confused.

Their blaster rounds reflected off of the blue bubble of her shield. She began swinging it with elegant arcs, striking anything and everything she could. "GO! HEAD FOR THE SHUTTLE!"

"Krystal!" Fara shouted.

"JUST GO!" she told them. "Hurry! Get the General out of here!"

Reluctantly, Miyu and Fara guided Bill Grey towards the flight deck. Back in the hallway, Krystal's shield fizzled out. The staff began an auto-charge sequence, restoring itself back to full power. The lizards took the opportunity to overpower her. Krystal was thrown up against a wall. She struggled against their sheer numbers.

A powerful lizard reached up and took her by the neck then choke-slammed her to the wavy, rippled deck plates. They began to strike her padded body suit over and over with their weapons, using them like barbaric clubs.

She rolled over, to protect her front and her face. The little blue vixen drew her legs in until she was in the fetal position. The big brute of the group brought his weapon down on the backside of her head, causing her to cry out in anguish. Their attacks were absorbed by the technologically advanced body suit but the strike to the back of her head jarred her.

_"That's not the way to do it," came a feminine voice off to the left. Krystal swiveled her head until her eyes met the soft hues of Marcus. Her lower lip trembled with incomprehension. _

_ "…Daddy?" She blinked at him. The senator moved around behind his daughter and wrapped his arms around her. It was tangible and warm like a blanket. He took her by the arms and cradled her into a stance. _

_ His warm voice tickled the backside of her ear. "Channel all your raw energy into your arms until you can feel it in your palms. You don't need to tense up until you're ready to release that energy. When the muscles in your arms tighten, the energy will be channeled through. It exits through your palms. That's the ancient technique of Dahn Daju _(A/N: Chapter 4, Reflections of Krystal)_ with the passing of kinetic energy stored inside of your body. Even when your body is at rest, everything INSIDE of your body is in motion. Motion creates kinetic energy. If you channel all of it at once, you can transfer it into something but it requires a great deal of mental prowess. You can use it the other way around, too, little angel. You can absorb the force of a strike and redirect that energy outwards. If an attacker strikes you with his body, you can redirect all of his energy back into the attacker. You need to focus and channel your inner chi. Concentrate…_" The distant memory faded and her father's voice went with it.

Her body tensed and, with the power of her staff acting like an antenna, channeling her energy, Krystal pushed away from the floor. Every single attacker was thrown backwards with the raw intensity of her people's ancient teaching. She shouted at the top of her lungs. The menacing battle cry was conjoined with an inadvertent outward explosion of untapped telekinetic energy waves. The force from within was pushed away from her body, throwing dozens of bodies up against the bulkhead on either side of the hallway.

The soft blue bangs of her hair floated outward. Her tail hovered in the air behind her and, for a brief moment, she levitated several inches above the floor panels. The thoughts of her comrades filled her mind and heart. She sensed their plight and felt their desire to hurry. She walked amongst the fallen and injured lizards. The battery in her staff was exhausted again. It began another auto-charge sequence, refilling itself by drawing natural energy from her.

The strange aura around her body began to dissipate and it left her somewhat fatigued. She turned at the intersection, seeing the ice wall across from her was beginning to melt from blaster shots on the other side. Glowing bursts of red, blue and green struck the sheet of ice repeatedly. She willed herself to hurry towards the flight deck just as the ice gave out and shattered. Gunfire and shouting pursued her, snapping at her heels. The door to the flight deck swished open.

The ship used by Asper to transport the girls aboard was ready to go. They dashed up the ramp with Fara stopped in the doorway to provide covering fire. Krystal lifted her glowing cane to provide a shield for Bill Grey, who followed Miyu up into the ship. "You made it!" Fara shouted to Krystal, emanating with intense relief.

Lynx rushed up to the front and activated all the systems. She began drumming her paws rapidly on the dash as if to expedite the computer's boot sequence. "C'mon, c'mon…!" The ship systems came online one at a time. She kept her eyes glued to a switch on the left. As soon as it turned blue, she flipped it and shouted, "SHIELDS ARE GOING UP!"

"Finally!" replied someone in the back; it sounded like Fara – Miyu couldn't be sure at this point. A blaster round flew in through the back entrance before the shield bubble could be properly established. It passed into the belly of the transporter, through the doorway and up into the cockpit. That vibrantly shining energy round, the last one through, managed to strike the back of the pilot's seat, hitting Miyu Lynx in her back.

She was thrown forward into the dashboard then she spilled to the deck, winded and unable to cry for help. Krystal sensed the panic and hurried to the bridge. She deduced what had happened from the hole in the back of the chair and the burnt cloth and fur on Miyu's back. "Fara! Miyu's been hit! Get up here quickly!"

Phoenix stuffed her blaster into her belt and made her way up to the nose of the ship. She knelt to the deck and pulled Miyu out from beneath the pilot's chair. Krystal could sense the raw pain from both women due to their injuries. She fidgeted with worry briefly but then she was able to sense… something else.

Krystal glanced over her shoulder and saw Bill. His warm vote of confidence helped her to snap out of all the pain she was feeling through the two injured teammates. She quickly took a seat in the pilot's chair and brought the remaining systems online. Once tactical was engaged, she fired a torpedo.

It screamed out from the front of the modified transporter and struck the main bay doors, blowing them apart inside out. She was inundated with fright and fear from the lizards that were blown from the deck, out into space. Several thumps were heard as bodies struck the transporter hull on their way towards the new hole in the flight deck's blast door.

The lighting on the flight deck changed from clear and bright to a dark red. A klaxon blared in the background, muffled within the transporter. Krystal clinched her jaw in determination and pushed the throttle bar. The landing tracks screeched in protest, grinding along the deck. She pulled back on the flight yoke and angled the craft upwards. Another body slammed into the hull, creating a thunderous sound. Seconds later, the reptilian body flew into view and disappeared into the dark expanse of the hole up ahead.

"Krystal maybe I should…"

She shook her head. "I've got this, Fara. Just tend to Miyu."

"But there are turrets out there and…"

Krystal lifted a paw, gesturing for quiet. "They're manned by biological, thinking people. I'm the best suited for this." She cut her gaze to Fara quickly then looked back towards the windshield. "I had another breakthrough when that one goon struck me on the head back in the big fight."

Miyu groaned from the floor. "You took a strike to the head and you're flying the ship?"

A sly grin tugged at Krystal's muzzle and she leaned forward, almost hunching over the flight yoke. "I've been able to see things a little more clearly since then. Don't worry… I don't have a concussion. Fara, on the other hand, _does_ have a concussion." She elevated the volume of her voice. "General Grey! Can you come up front and help these ladies? They're both injured and require attention."

"I'll be fine," murmured Fara. She rolled Miyu onto her back and began to check the woman for damage. However, because the blaster struck the chair first, followed by her padded clothing, most of the energy had been absorbed. The injury was barely skin deep, leaving first and second degree burns on the feline's back. Fara glanced up just in time to see red blaster bolts streak by the windshield. She made a sour face and looked away. "I can't watch."

"That's because you're not in control," murmured McCloud, her confidence welling. She sensed, now, that someone was locked onto the ship. She paused purposefully then bunched the throttle. The blaster turret's gunfire narrowly missed the aft section of the shield bubble, disappearing into the depths of space.

She zigzagged away from the core base and began tapping her lacquered nails on switches and keys. The interior of the shuttle turned into a navy blue as an indication that the cloak field was now active. She changed her heading back towards Macbeth and opened a communication channel with GreatFox. "This is Krystal McCloud; we're on our way home. Have you heard from the boys?"

Theodore's visual filled a section of the windshield. "Krystal! You guys have Bill?"

"Right here," replied Grey in a tired voice.

Krystal immediately sensed distant yet intense relief from Fay Spaniel, who was also on the bridge of GreatFox.

Theodore nodded emphatically. "Outstanding! Look, that was my best and the most stable cloaking device I have. And we need it. Fox and Marcus were using the Landmaster as a wireless access point to upload all the files from the ship we found. But the transmission burst alerted the rest of Macbeth to their presence. We've got _all_ the data but… now Fox and Marcus are in trouble."

Krystal's eyes widened. "Acknowledged," she said, cutting the channel. She opened a new channel to Fox by bouncing the transmission beam off of GreatFox in Macbeth's atmosphere.

Her husband appeared on the view screen. "…Krystal! There you are! You're okay!" A muffled explosion was heard in the background. The intensity of the sound caused distorted crackling sound over the cockpit speakers.

"Yes and we've got Bill Grey. Look, everyone is waiting for us to get back because we have Theodore's best cloaking device. They want to come and get you… there's no time for a change of paws, I'm coming to get you _right now_."

"We appreciate it," said Fox in a somewhat lower tone. "The Landmaster is damaged and is no longer mobile. It's here with the wreckage. We're using its shields to bubble the entire crash site but… they're hammering away at us and the shields on this thing won't last much longer. There are way too many of them out there. Are you guys armed?"

"Yes," said Krystal. "I… I sense there are _three of you_ down there…?"

"Yeah," said Fox with a perplexed look. "I thought you lost your abilities?"

"I…" Krystal paused, not wanting to tell him that she'd sustained a strike to the head earlier. "I had…" She turned to Fara and Miyu on the floor then smiled back at her husband, remembering what she'd told the girls before leaving GreatFox, earlier. "I've had a breakthrough, Fox. Who is the other pilot?"

"Falco is doing strafe runs to keep them from overtaking our position. He's in danger of being shot down. I told him to leave but he won't leave us. There are just too many enemies out there. He's a sitting duck up there."

"Hey!" Falco Lombardi's visual feed cut into the channel. His facial feathers were matted down with sweat and his cockpit was flashing red all around him. "I'm a _flying falcon_, not a _sitting duck_, McCloud! I'll manage just fine up here!" A dull, monotone voice chimed from behind him. '_Warning: Shield integrity at twelve percent!_' Falco gritted his teeth as if caught in a lie. "Don't listen to that annoying thing. It's got a flair for drama, today." He closed his channel. Fox's visual returned to Krystal's windshield display.

She offered him a semi-encouraging smile. "Hang in there, baby. Momma McCloud is on her way." She closed the channel and punched the throttle to full. Krystal then announced, "Are you guys ready for more action? Because it's not over yet!"

Miyu, the most injured of them all, looked up at Krystal from the floor. "Are you kidding? We're ready, girl."

Bill sighed, shaking his head at the lynx. "You're going to get yourself killed, Miyu. That bolt threw you right out of your seat. You've got a bloody nose from where you hit the dashboard."

A weak smile was afforded from the feline. "Bloody nose? 'Tis a scratch. Skin burns? A mere flesh wound. I've been through _way_ worse, Bill. I was _married_." She grinned somewhat through the gooey vitae that dribbled down over her maw. Her idea of humor went on mostly deaf ears.

"You should try child birth," murmured Krystal. She blinked twice then brought one paw up to her mouth. "Oh my word," she whispered. "…I remember that, now." She glanced back at Miyu then offered a somewhat jilted little grin. "I remember my wedding… It was wonderful."

"You want me to drive," asked Bill.

Krystal gave him a dirty look. "I've got it, General." High on all good memories, Krystal gave him a saucy wink. "Sit down and strap in. We're headed for Macbeth." She tapped the booster key on the side of the throttle stick, hurtling through the void towards the growing size of Macbeth up ahead.

* * *

**Fox eased his fist out through the porthole on the right and fired off two more shots.** He quickly brought his paw back inside and ducked down. Return fire slammed against the hull adjacent to the porthole, causing a shower of sparks to pour in through the small opening.

Marcus, on the other side, squeezed off a few shots on the other end, through a similar opening. "Mom's on her way with Fara? What's taking them so long?"

Fox withdrew his last thermal detonator from his gear, attached it to the barrel of his gun and pointed it out the window. "Oh, you know women, son," he fired it, causing the small round ball to be launched towards the enemy forces in a trench less than sixty meters away. "…They take forever to get ready for anything. You might as well get used to it!" He placed his paws over the porthole to block out the bright flash. After the explosive sound, he thrust his paw back out the window and began firing on anyone who was dazed. Fox picked off two enemies and winged a third.

"Boy this is a mess," said Marcus to his father. "We could sure use the help of someone like Tricky at a time like this… bulletproof face plate, breathing fire… not to mention he could ram through the lot of these guys… I'd just send him down into their trenches… they'd be steamrollered in a matter of minutes."

"Oh yeah?" said Fox, ducking back down behind the bulkhead to change out the energy cell for a matter synthesis magazine. "You want me to tell the girls to stop by Sauria on the way here? I'm sure we won't notice the additional time it would take, since _forever_ is already taking long enough."

"My, my," said Marcus with a grin. "Aren't you short on patience today?" He went to say more but his words were drowned out by an earth-shattering noise that shook the world around them. Two of the hinged doors on the three computer units swung open. Both foxes covered their ears. An enormous explosion with an incredible flash caused both McClouds to look away from the portholes.

"What the hell is going on out there?" growled Fox. He sat up on a knee and fired a stream of high velocity projectiles, much like a submachine gun, from his blaster through the porthole. The simulated matter rounds caused his weapon to buck in his paws.

Marcus blinked and rushed over to the grated ductwork. "Falco!" He ripped off the grating and reached in for the singed feathery fingers, helping Lombardi into the small section of craft. "You were shot down?! I thought you were my ace, old man!"

Lombardi's knee replacement buzzed and hissed with every movement as he crawled in. "Yeah, I'm not too proud of what you just witnessed out there, but I sure gave'em hell. Besides, I thought it might be fun to come join your party. Where's the beer, the franks and the girls?"

Fox smirked back at his longtime friend. "We drank all the beer, ate all the franks and …the girls are running late. As always."

Falco got up onto his knees and withdrew a satchel full of weapons from around his waist. "Yeah, that's par for the course. Women take forever to do _anything_." He opened the cloth bag and said, "I've got guns galore! Who wants some thermal detonators?"

The elder McCloud grinned back at him then fired off another volley of synthetic matter rounds through the porthole. "My man! I just used my last thermal grenade, too. Good timing."

"Hey, I'm a guy," said Falco, "I'm all about good timing." He tossed a second blaster over to Marcus then passed one to Fox and withdrew an assault rifle for himself. An explosive rocked the hull further down at the other end. Daylight shined through. Lombardi got to his feet, steadied himself and said, "Cool, I've got a window, now." He hurried down to the far end and pointed the rifle through the newly breached hull and began firing. The crack in the metal was nearly the size of the portholes being used by Fox and Marcus but it was longer, giving Falco more room to shoot to the left and right.

"What did this look like from the air?" shouted Fox.

"You don't want to know," Falco called back in reply.

"Ugly," Marcus told his father, having sensed what Falco saw before his Arwing crashed. "Hey! I can sense my mother telepathically reaching out to me!"

"Really?" Falco hollered up to the front end. "I thought she lost that stuff?"

Fox fired off two volleys, one with each fist then ducked behind the bulkhead. "She said she had some sort of breakthrough! I just hope she's armed to the teeth! I don't want her getting shot down, too!"

Falco snorted. "My shield generators are still active. They should be overlapping with what's left of the Landmaster's shield bubble! Have her fire a Nova Bomb down here!"

"That'll wipe out our shields!" cried Marcus.

"And all our enemies," returned Falco.

A frown marred Fox's muzzle. "I don't think transporters carry Nova Bombs anyhow. Another shower of sparks fluttered from Fox's porthole, causing him to flinch while replacing the matter synthesis magazine in the first gun. He held the blaster up over his head, firing off a few random shots through the porthole above his head. He then placed the blaster on the deck to use two paws to change the clip. Once it was ready, he stood back up and fired back out through the opening.

Falco and Marcus continued to man their respective openings with everyone praying that Krystal and Fara's transporter would hurry. After a few minutes without talking, Falco asked, "You guys learn anything interesting from these computers or what?"

"Yeah," Marcus said between volleys of gunfire. "We're _all_ million year old descendants of the Krazoa! We're all related as cousins, a trillion times removed!"

"There's more," said Fox, hurling another detonator through the window. "On Kursed's side, she gained all of her information from Andross' databanks, because he had an alliance with the Kew _before_ the full blown war against Corneria. Thinking he and his innocent race of 'unarmed' lizards were outnumbered by an aggressor, they sent him some technology. They helped him! They sent him stuff that allowed him to build the telekinetic amplifier from plans he found in the ruins of Venom… not to mention the ruins of Sauria. See that? The Sharpclaw and dinosaurs of Sauria were an un-evolved version of the Venom lizards. Same races. They have similar ancient technologies."

"Neat," muttered Falco. "What the hell does that mean for us?"

Marcus called up to Lombardi, "Mom's staff is derived from some of the oldest technology ever known. That's why it interfaces with underground weapons temples on Sauria. Mom had no idea it would shoot fire until she landed there and found those temples, herself. We now think there's an ancient weapon on Sauria that's overgrown and long forgotten."

"What kind of weapon?" shouted Falco before firing out the crack in the hull plating once more.

Fox picked up where his son left off. "We think Kursed wants to find it. We think she destroyed Sauria in her universe just to try sorting through the rocks floating through Lylat, to make it easier. She seems to think that this weapon is even more powerful than the four combined reverse-polarity spell stones she's retrieved. It has the power to terraform a planet!"

"That doesn't sound like a weapon to me!" cried Falco between shots.

Marcus scoffed. "It would wipe out everything ON the planet and reformat it like some sort of hard drive. THAT could be the reason why almost every planet in Lylat supports life… because they terraformed each planet in the system at some point in time… So now every planet has an atmosphere! But if you reused it on a planet that already has life… you'd wipe out everything on it in order to start over new! THAT… is a weapon!"

"Forget _that_ noise!" shouted Lombardi, "We gotta stop that wacko chick!" He slumped down behind the bulkhead and started fidgeting with his weapon to change the cartridge in the bottom.

"We gotta get out of _here_ first," Fox said. "Marcus, can you sense how close they are?"

"No, I'm too riled up to focus on _anything_!" A grenade went off not far from his porthole. He flopped backwards, blinking rapidly from the temporary blindness. "I'm okay!" he called out. His words lacked enunciation from the sensation of being deafened for a matter of minutes. "I'm fine, just… need a minute to recover!" He couldn't hear anything but a high-pitched ringing in his ears.

The ringing ended before the blindness. Marcus crawled across the deck and leaned up against the wall. He felt around until he found the porthole then fired two shots out of it. Slowly, the darkness faded until he could see blurry images. Again, he fired two shots out the porthole. Everything slid back into focus. "They're not kidding out there! Who _are_ these guys anyhow?"

Fox slumped back down, back against the bulkhead to change his magazine again. "It's not the damn mafia families, because they wouldn't work together or have this kind of numerical advantage. This is becoming a war of attrition and we can't win it!" The Landmaster's shield bubble fizzled out, leaving a weakened Arwing shield bubble.

"Guys!" Falco's voice was clear and loud despite the ambiance. "There's an entropy detonator in the bag! My Arwing's shields are less than five percent, so… it's now or never!" Lombardi lifted his eyes from his wrist computer, which flashed with an alarm, showing that the complete destruction of his fighter was imminent.

"What?!" Fox scrambled towards the satchel on the deck. "Those are illegal, Falco! Where did you get it?"

"I have two… for desperate situations. Gut feeling – I followed my instincts… like you always say to each other, right? I had a feeling things were going to get desperate!"

Fox delved through the satchel until he located the non-descript looking device. He swallowed back trepidation. "This is considered a contraband weapon, Falco. Units only _slightly_ larger than this one are considered weapons of mass destruction and they're outlawed. How the hell did you find it?"

"Just shut up and use it!"

Marcus looked back at his father, unable to follow what was going on. He sensed that his father absolutely detested having it in his palms. "What does it do, dad?"

"It…" McCloud's throat went dry, coming to realize it may be their only hope. "It displaces one energy with another, creating… it's like… when an ice cube, which is… uh, frozen energy… when it melts from heat, it becomes full of energy, or, uh… when a car is rolling down a hill from kinetic energy but heat in the form of friction causes the rolling car to become… uh…" He struggled with an explanation.

Falco crawled back towards the two foxes and snatched the bomb from the elder McCloud. "Listen, kiddo… let's say this thing comes your way. The energy, or whatever, will make you age so fast, in a matter of seconds, that you _turn to dust_. That's no joke. It creates a cloud that kills anything organic in a matter of ten seconds. They were outlawed back before your grandfather was a pilot. They're very expensive on the black market and I have two of them. The law is older than the law makers so let's just forget it exists after I throw it out the window, okay?"

Having seen the horrific devastation of the nuclear blast over the Corneria Capital City last year (A/N: _New Generation_), Marcus became reluctant to utilize it. "Just… wait."

"If they get any closer, it'll be _too close_ to use," argued Lombardi. "It would kill us, too! It's now or never!"

Fox snatched the bomb and cocked his arm, ready to hurl it out the window. Another large explosion, outside, knocked him flat onto his back. Blaster fire strafed along the trenches, parallel to their position. The three pilots quickly peered out the porthole together, watching as heavy plasma gunfire discharged into the enemy lines from above.

"It's about time!" shouted Falco. He plucked the weapon from Fox's palm and put it back into the satchel. "That's the way to take it to'em!" Falco continued, watching a charged shot strike the ground. A group of Imperial reptiles went flying into the air followed by chunks of dirt and rock.

Marcus vaguely sensed the relief emanating from his father, who didn't want to use such a horrible weapon. Another explosion came from Marcus' side, causing reptiles to rain down with dirt and stone fragments. The outer hull of the half-buried ship, pelted with debris, caused the three pilots to hold their ears from the thunderous noise.

A magnificent cacophony of explosive dissonance knocked everyone to the ground. The Landmaster tank exploded just above them, causing the hull plating to dent inward above their heads. Soot and dust wafted in through the two portholes and the section of breached hull.

* * *

**"What's taking them so long?"** shouted Miyu. Sitting on the back of the transporter with an assault rifle in her paws, she fired through the opened doors at the back. "Men take _forever_ to do _anything_! 'Open the pickle jar!' you ask. 'Sure honey! Wait until the next commercial! The game is on,' they say! Ten commercials later, the pickle jar still needs opening!" Miyu continued to grouse while picking off targets from her elevated position. She winced each time the weapon bucked in her paw from the force against her shoulder because of the burns on her back. She continued to fire, shot after shot, picking off targets between each of Krystal's strafing attacks. "Someone call down there and tell them to get their butts out of that thing so we can pick'em up and leave already!"

Bill climbed to the edge of the deck. Wind caused his headfur to be tousled. "I see a Landmaster is burning… and that Arwing is trashed. It won't hold out much longer, either. I hope no one was in either of those." He got up to one knee and opened a panel on the bulkhead. Within was a rifle. He removed it, activated the power cell and deactivated the safety then joined Miyu in picking off targets. His shots were less accurate than hers.

For every successful headshot Miyu scored, Bill had a solid torso hit. After a moment, he called up to the front. "Fara or Krystal! Someone call those boys and tell'em to get out of that thing so we can pick'em up!" Two gunshots came upwards, striking the metallic ceiling. A shower of hot sparks rained down over Bill and Miyu, causing them to shield their eyes. They immediately returned fire with little hesitation.

Up in the cockpit, Fara said to Krystal, "Let's land this thing so we can pick them up. I'll give them the heads up warning. Put all available power into the shields and get us as near to the ground as possible." She couldn't see straight from the concussion but she knew the layout of the communicator without needing to see it. She opened a channel and Marcus answered the call. "Baby, get your tails out of there! We're descending now! Hurry up and board the shuttle before Venom infantry can get any closer! From the air, I can see reinforcements rolling in! They're close!" She waited for him to acknowledge her then she closed the channel and slumped back into the co-pilot seat. "Okay… Make your move."

The shuttle's landing tracks met with the uneven ground and shifted a bit but Krystal used the maneuvering thrusters. In a temporary forced hover, only the ramp at the rear was touching the ground, now. Fara held her breath for a short period of time then muttered, "What's taking them so long! Men take _forever_ to do something, I swear! We take an hour to get dressed up, do our hair and apply makeup but they take thirty minutes just to do a freaking TIE!"

Krystal opened a channel. "Boys, please… we're running out of time!"

Fox's voice came over the audio patch. "Just another second! We're almost there!"

Moments later, metal scratching sounds came from the cargo section of the transporter shuttle. A hollow thump came next followed by Miyu shouting up at the cockpit. "GO, GO, GO!"

"Finally!" Krystal punched the throttle and pulled back on the yoke. The shuttle ascended into the sky, picking up speed. She punched keys on the dash, closing the main aft doors and retracting the ramp. She then transferred power from the shields back to the cloaking device and activated it.

Falco made his way up to the cockpit and looked over both vixens. "Fara, you look like hell. How's it going, Krystal? Nice flyin' back there."

"What was that noise?" asked Phoenix. "Did you guys bring something with you?"

He nodded in reply. "Yeah, we brought a small souvenir from that part of Kursed's ship. Thanks for coming to pick us up back there… You guys sure took your sweet time but you really saved our butts."

Fara glared up at him, unable to focus on him very well. "Our sweet time, huh? I think we broke a transporter speed record, birdbrain."

"Yeah, well… it just felt like a long time," he murmured. "That's all I'm saying. Thanks for coming to get us, you guys. It was turning real ugly real quick. Who were the attackers?"

Krystal glanced back at him then turned to the windshield once more. "Imperial Venom had a base in the foothills we didn't know about. I don't think those two syndicate families knew about it either but I've already alerted both sides to Venom's presence, there. Neither family likes Imperial Venom… said something about how they're bad for business during every single war. I have a feeling Venom will have their hands full _very soon_."

"Good to hear." The avian headed back out to the cargo area and dropped into a chair alongside the starboard bulkhead. He glanced over at Bill Grey and smirked. "You never cared much for me, you never cared much for Crimson O'Donnell… now both of us have saved your butt. You should reevaluate how you feel about street riffraff, huh, General?"

Bill turned a tired gaze towards Falco then looked passed him to Marcus, Miyu and Fox. He cracked a thin smile. "So long as Fay is safe, I'm happy with _everybody_ and _everything_. Is she up on GreatFox?"

Miyu nodded before anyone else could reply. "She's safely on GreatFox. Everyone is happy. Just take a deep breath. We'll take you two back to Corneria after this. From what I understand, the GreatFox is headed there next, anyhow."

Fox nodded in agreement. "She's in need of a refit. So… I hear everything thinks we're dead."

Bill nodded. "Everyone except Fara and Krystal have died. At least that's what everyone seems to think. That gives you guys time to get a refit. Let's keep you guys a secret for right now. I'll call in the best and the brightest Cornerian engineers and mechanics to expedite the repairs for your ship." He leaned back against the bulkhead and shut his eyes. "You guys want to take a loan out of the taxpayers money to have it fixed as soon as possible? I'll arrange something. Your ship is a patchwork job. It needs new main guns, a new energy core, new armored plating… she just needs a _lot_ of work, period."

Marcus began pacing the flight deck to walk off his pent up energy. "It'll be nice to have things fixed and working again." He leaned up against the large metal cabinet brought from Kursed's ship. He didn't stay there long. "Pardon me, everyone." He walked to the front and disappeared in the cockpit to see his girlfriend and his mother.

Fox lifted his paw to Falco. The two pilots brought their knuckles together. "Thanks for the assist out there, pal. Marcus and I couldn't have done it without you." He then turned to Miyu and nodded. "Thanks for going and rescuing our favorite new General. Everyone is going home tonight, now."

Miyu smirked. "I may have rushed around to get this thing organized," she started, "but the way we pulled everything off… well… that was Krystal McCloud's idea. She's the one who arranged all the details. All I did was rush to the dormitories and give her a call. Without her, Bill would still be in jail and you boys would still be pinned down. She's the real hero, here. Not me."

Bill offered Miyu a smile. "You still called the right person and helped to put everything into motion. You still put your fur on the line for everyone here. Fay said I get to choose the bride's maid and she'll choose the best man. Of course, we weren't serious at the time… but I plan on asking her as soon as I see her again."

"Oh yeah?" Miyu moved over by the General and eased down onto the chair bolted to the bulkhead. She sat sidesaddle because of her back injury. "You're going to ask her as soon as you see her, huh?"

"I sat in that cell for days in chains." He shrugged gently. "The only thing that got me through those sleepless nights… was the hopes of seeing her again. I know that's really messed up or whatever… but I've fallen in love with her. I can't help it."

Miyu's eyes lowered to the ground. She shook her head slowly. "No… no, it's not messed up, Grey. It's actually sweet of you to say that. You guys going to get married and raise a family, huh?"

Bill frowned. "I doubt it. We're all getting up there in age. I mean, I would in a heartbeat but… we're too old for it to happen for us. I've already come to the conclusion that the closest I'll ever get to raising a kid was when I was Marcus McCloud's roommate. …And he's in his twenties so… I didn't do any actual raising. Don't tell Fay, I don't want to hurt her feelings that I've already given up on being a father. It's just… that's life and I accept it."

Miyu smirked. "So, if you had the chance, you'd raise a kid?"

"Something tells me that Fay isn't the type of girl to adopt some random needy kid. I've even considered that… but I won't push the issue. So long as she's in my life, I'll be a happy man. It's no big deal."

"Just ask her to marry you," said the lynx with a smirk. "That's the manliest thing you can do. Lay low for a little while until everyone's healed his or her wounds. Let Jack Pepper and that woman, General Roland, take over for a little bit. Jack's orders for me were to provide Fay with security until things die down a little bit."

Falco began pacing the ship. "Jeeze, all you guys do is blab about nothing. And now we're going to sit around and play dead for a while? Screw this… I'm going to spend my time visiting my girls. Where's that guy, Asper? Isn't he supposed to be here, too?"

Miyu frowned. "Falco… you'll have to be the one to break it to Violet…"

Lombardi brought a feathery hand to his forehead. "You guys didn't let him get himself killed did you?"

"No, no," she said quickly, "Not that!" She winced, shifting her weight at the edge of the plastic chair. "He volunteered to stay. It turns out that Dash trusts him. He's going to trick Dash the way that idiot monkey tricked us last year. Asper found out some sort of report that Venom possibly has the Anglars building something big on the floor of the Venom Ocean. He's going to verify it and be our inside source of information. Just… tell Violet he's on a mission for an extended period of time. He won't be around to protect them for a little while."

Lombardi nodded slowly. "That boy is all right in my book. He's got bigger brass buttons than most people, knowing how much he hates Venom. I guess he's in a unique position, since he has a lot of lizard features and can speak the language really well. I just hope no one catches on."

"We can only hope," murmured Bill.

Fox nodded with a frown. "We can't attack that thing with Sarnoff aboard. The corebase can wait while Star Fox gets a refit. We'll extract him before the main offensive. He's helping to raise my grandson and, from what I've heard… lizard or not… he's doing a good job."

"Must be that avian blood," said Falco with a smirk. "It sure isn't the reptile half." He headed up to the cockpit and peered out through the windshield. "There she is," he murmured, seeing the GreatFox in a standard orbit. "I could use a cold beer."

Marcus grinned back at the avian then, from his kneeling position on the floor between the two chairs, he rested his head back on Fara's lap. "Fara, we've got so many people now, would you like to share a room until we're back to Corneria?"

Fara cut her gaze to Krystal, half surprised that his mother didn't say anything against it. She reminded herself that the race was used to knowing everything about one another and that he was no longer a kid. She gave his head a pat and grinned without a word on the matter. "I'd better head to sickbay first. After all, that's where Asper wanted me to go all along. I'll take care of this concussion then move my clothes over. With reduced engine capacity, it's going to be a solid two days journey back home."

Falco smirked. "Forget that crap. I'm taking the Sky Claw and headed out to Aquas. I'll catch up with you guys in a few days."

Krystal shifted her weight. "Marcus, when we return to Corneria… your father and I would like to disappear. I have a lot of memories to try and rediscover. I know that now is not the time for a second honeymoon but… we're going to head to Sauria and relax. I'm hoping that when I see it, I'll remember more things. I'd like to join my mind with yours before we leave, though."

"Of course," he murmured in return. The GreatFox filled the windshield and they came around to the carrier section. With grace and skill, Krystal piloted the ship to the flight deck and eased down onto its landing tracks. She opened the aft doors and lowered the gangplank. "Last stop, everyone. Get out, get off and get some rest."

Meanwhile, Bill Grey eased to his feet. He nodded to Miyu and said, "Get your butt up to the sickbay on the double. You'll need that injury looked at. I'm going to go and get _these_ cut off." He lifted his wrists. The chain links that hung from either of the bracelet-like sections rattled softly. "He did this to try and demoralize me. It'll feel good to get rid of them." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a slip of paper with a ring inside. His muzzle tugged at the corners, grinning at Fox McCloud.

The vulpine moved closer to inspect the ring. "Wow… that's some sparkler you've got there, Bill."

"I'm having butterflies, Fox. I look like hell and I need a shower but… I told myself if I survived that ordeal… it's the first thing I would do. Humorously enough, I brought it with me, in my pocket, the night Bowman showed up on base. I was trying to talk myself into giving it to her that night… it feels like forever ago. But after a few days of sitting in that cell… I know I can't live without her. I'm ready."

Fox laughed. "But you still have butterflies, huh?"

"I'm afraid of rejection."

Miyu narrowed her eyes at the canine. "Don't be afraid of rejection. Just go be a man and make her feel wanted. It's the smartest thing you can do, right now."

Bill couldn't help but grin at Miyu's terse tone. "Thanks for the pep-talk, future Maid of Honor." He ribbed her gently in the right elbow then nodded to Fox. "I'm going to do it, dude." With that said, Grey made his way off the shuttle to find Fay Spaniel.

From the flight deck, he followed signs through the ship until he made it to the main bridge. It was empty. Bill wondered back until he made his way to the cruiser section of the conjoined ships then followed signs again until he found his way to the bridge for _that_ ship.

The doors swished open and he saw Fay over by Theodore, Vivian and Lucy. The canine's eyes lit up. Bill's tired sunken eyes brightened in reply.

"William!" she erupted and crossed the bridge. "They've been so busy up here monitoring data transmissions and working to crack Venom data burst codes, we didn't even know that you'd landed!" She launched herself into his arms, not saying anything about the shackles. The two hugged one another tightly in silence for what felt like several moments. Finally, Fay said, "Let's go down to the observation deck. Just us."

Bill grinned over her shoulder and lifted the ring, keeping it behind Fay's back so that only Lucy, Vivian and Theodore could see it. Slippy came in through a door on the other side of the bridge, saw the ring and said, "Holy smokes!" He abruptly got an admonishing glare from the other three on the bridge. He saw them gesture with their fingers over their lips, signaling him to keep quiet. Slippy swallowed and said, "I mean, 'Holy smokes, Bill is back and he's safe!' I didn't know you guys just got back! I'm glad everyone is okay!" He discreetly paged his wife, wanting to spread the good news of Bill's imminent good deed.

With a quick flick of the wrist, Bill hid the ring again then took Fay by the paw. "Let's go down to the Observation Deck for some _privacy_, huh? Just like you suggested. There's some stuff I wanted to say to you, sweetheart."

"Yes, same here," she murmured. "But mine can wait for a little longer. I've been worried sick. I missed you so much that I was ill for the last few days."

A smile crossed Bill's features as he took her by the wrist and led her away from the bridge. "A few days ago, I was thinking about how much I enjoy our relationship. We kept it a secret at first and, for the last five months, we stopped pretending like it didn't exist. The last five months have been amazing. The last _year_ has been amazing. Ever since I met you, I've been taken with you, Fay. But the last few days, being without you, has made me realize that I never want to be without you ever again."

Fay rested her head on his shoulder and he drew her close. "We'll need to get rid of those silly shackles. A hot shower and a whisker trim – you'll feel good as new soon enough."

"Yeah, that would be nice." He stopped in front of the Observation Deck door and it swished open. He gestured her in first then stepped in. The door shut behind him. She walked away, stopping in front of the large glass window to look at the depths of Lylat stretched out before her. While her attention was diverted, Bill approached the security camera mounted on the ceiling near the door. He reached up and tilted it so that it was facing the ceiling. He could just hear the groans in the back of his mind that were emanating from the crew up on the cruiser section's bridge.

Bill swallowed back the butterflies in his stomach, recalling what Miyu told him. He took a slow, deep breath and began to approach the woman across the room. With a gentle touch, he took her arm and turned her about until she was facing him. Their eyes met. "I know it's difficult to assign a symbol to love. And I love you, Fay. It seems to me that the best way I know how to show it is by finding some sort of symbol. I know love is supposed to be symbolic and have all this… important meaning. That's just what love is to people… it's a meaning, it's symbolic and it's something to cherish. I promise never to take it for granted."

Fay started with a grin but it evolved into a genuine smile. "You're the sweetest man I've ever met. Part of me thinks that, no matter what, if we met twenty years ago or if we met tomorrow… we'd come together because… I feel such a deep connection with you, William, that for once in my life… I feel like the term 'Soul Mate' applies. You're the first man to excite me and relax me at all the same time. You're the first man with whom I trust completely. You give me the most gorgeous sleep. When I wake up besides you, I'm at peace yet I'm beside myself. I want to feel that way every day for the rest of my life, William. When I saw you on that screen back on Corneria… I felt so much relief, just knowing you were alive. I became overcome with hope. Not knowing if you were alive for several long days… I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat… I felt lost without you. That's when I realized that I need you in my life."

He took another slow, deep breath then lifted his left paw. He gently brushed back one of her ears and gazed into her eyes. The butterflies disappeared and his heart began to pound. He lifted his right paw and, with the obsidian canvas of Lylat looking on, he lowered to one knee and held up the ring. "Fay Spaniel, I can't… I _won't_ live another day without you at my side. And if you feel the same way, I want you to wear this… _symbol_ of what I feel for you. This 'symbol' of our _love_. Will you marry me?"

Her lower lip trembled. For the moment, everything else was behind her. The pregnancy test, the war, everything. She wanted to cry and she wanted to giggle and she wanted to scream like a giddy little schoolgirl. Her left paw lifted and she nodded then licked her lips and she sought something elegant to say. Instead, she blurted out, "Yes! Of course I will!"

He pushed the ring onto her finger and they interlaced their paws. He rose from his knee and drew her into his arms. Before he could even lean in to kiss her, she practically leapt at him, pushing her lips against his. She threw her arms around his neck and clung to him, taking comfort in the feel of his body being so close to hers. Fay opened her eyes and gazed over his shoulder at the ring he'd placed on her finger… her eyes widened, seeing how large and how intensely opulent the diamond was. She never, in her entire life, expected something so extravagant. It took her by surprise.

He broke the kiss and told her, "I love you." The sincerity of his words melted her heart. She buried her face into his neck and cried tears of joy, relief, and happiness. She got her man back, safe and sound. Tonight was going to be a good night. Tonight, she'd sleep better than she had in a long, long time. She just knew it.

* * *

A/N: _Aww, isn't that sweet? See? I wrote three battle scenes back to back to back then had Bill propose to Fay. Meanwhile, Violet is looking out into the night sky, praying that HER loved one will make it home safely. Now that all the craziness is aside, let's get this story back on some sort of track, huh? Some sort of plotline. But I have a question… Is anyone still reading this story?? _

_-K _


	14. A Shadow Waiting in the Wings

A/N: _Don't be alarmed: there's a very short romance scene here. It doesn't even show anything 'naughty' but I wrote the scene anyway because it has implications paramount to the storyline, which is seen later on in this chapter. I made it very tame, though… Remember those old movies _Days of Thunder_ and _TopGun_? Guess what… PG-13 (aka 'Teen' rating), and both movies show romance scenes. But, because the characters were enshrouded in sheets, it was easy to convince any 7-year-old viewers that the characters were merely 'wrestling around'. Well, romance is STILL considered an adult theme. But the way the director shot the scene, the movie was still rated for teens – no harm, no foul, right? Same in this chapter. I simply SAY that it happens, and that the characters conscientiously make the decision to go 'all the way'. No lurid details, I swear! So, please, don't get upset and tell me this story needs to be rated mature. Then again, if ENOUGH of you PM or email me and say, "HEY! This story really does need the rating to change," let me know and give me MORE than a SILLY REASON why. I don't want to hear, "I SAW KISSING AND THEN THEY 'make love' _AFTER_ THE SCENE ENDS! JUST THE _THOUGHT_ OF IT WAS WAY TOO INTENSE FOR ME TO READ ABOUT!" That won't fly. Thanks! Also, I have decided I want to touch up the first story I wrote in this six-story series. That's right, Reflections of Krystal. I re-read the first four chapters and it was AWFUL. Yeah, my writing style stunk back then... but there were inconsistencies, too! It's time to do a little touching up so that things line up better in this series. It starts with the first four chapters of that story. Maybe I'll write more into them... make'em longer, I'm not sure yet! Maybe I'll play around with the first and second chapter because they're so short and bland. Lol, I don't know. Okay, now onward to the chapter!  
__:D_

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Chapter -14-  
"Waiting in the Wings"

**Kursed watched Bliss and Carey on the security display.** She glanced back at the main view screen and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, Mister Bowman, I'm afraid I wasn't paying attention to what you were saying."

He looked angry on the monitor. "Perhaps _this_ will catch your ear, General Kursed… My people apprehended two members of StarFox. You told me they were _dead_. Krystal McCloud was among the living! Using that stupid Cerinian staff, she managed to flatten an entire company of soldiers! They freed General Bill Grey and fled. I've been unable to track them! They were _very angry_ that you killed their family members and they promised vengeance. How will you solve this?"

"Dash, my dear," she put on a sweet tone and smiled softly. "I'm absolutely delighted that Krystal McCloud was able to escape Kyong Adler. That proves she's a worthy nemesis."

"You promised you could unite the Sharpclaw of Sauria and the lizards of Venom. You promised that I would have an _army group_. I want a million and a half men, '_General'_ Kursed. We barely have a _division_ at only nine thousand soldiers! Katina, alone, has an infantry corps of forty thousand, an air corps of fifty thousand, and that's not even close to Corneria's numbers. WHO is going to man my battle fleet?"

Kursed lifted a paw, finger extended. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve, darling Dash Bowman." The syrupy sweet voice was offered to put him at ease. "After all, I have _you_ to thank for resurrecting me. We're in this together, Dash. I'm headed to Sauria _now_ to recruit the Sharpclaw tribe. Just think, once we spend a little time furthering their education and teaching them how to use high tech weapons… you've just added another full division to your ranks. An excess of ten thousand, perhaps closer to fifteen, my dear."

"Sauria is an otherwise worthless planet," muttered Dash with a tone of frustration and contempt. "Nothing has come from that planet _ever_. It's utterly useless. Bring the Sharpclaw from Sauria. They'll be much happier on Venom anyhow."

She stared at him over the display for a moment then glanced to the left without a word. Dash continued to complain. Finally, annoyed by his banter she drew in a slow, calm breath and said, "_You_ are the reason we lack enough soldiers to fight a _ten_ _million_ man multi-theater war, Dash Bowman. Forgive me for insulting you, dearest Dash, but please understand that Venom does not hold you in high regard. They see Andross as the only _true_ hero and leader of Venom. He came and gave them direction, technology, focus and an economy. He made them civilized. He later came back and, through his work, he restored their planet's ecosystem. After the Anglars were defeated, the lizards found themselves in a paradise. They respect Andross. You may think they're idiots but they see you Dash, my dear. Andrew led them to war and they were crushed. The Anglars were crushed. You came along and led them… they were crushed. Their economy is globally ruined for decades. Poverty is worldwide. You managed to place blame on your cousin, Andrew… and he went to prison. You snuck away and Corneria forgot your trespasses. But Venom _did not forget_."

"Yes, but…"

She spoke over him. "Then Andrew comes back while you're trying to rally those people. He starts a civil war and the two of you feud over who's the heir to Andross' _'throne_'. As if there ever was one. Then you two attack one another. People were killed in those attacks. _Venom does NOT respect you_, and so you have a mere _company_ aboard your core base. One hundred seventy-five soldiers. That's it, right? Less than two hundred, if I'm not mistaken. That, my darling, is your fault. You said Krystal defeated them with her staff? I believe it. She probably knocked them all to the ground then wiped them out. She's obviously capable with that staff. I can only imagine the deck plates need replacing."

Dash's lower lip quivered in an attempt to maintain his composure. "…They were… rippled for a radius of one hundred meters in every direction."

"Indeed." Kursed lifted her head and gazed down her nose at him. "How can you lead this planet to success? They disrespect you. The only thing that has impressed them in the last few days is the death of Star Fox."

"NOT ALL of Star Fox! I TOLD you that Krystal and another woman are alive! THAT is YOUR fault!"

"Listen to me." Kursed leaned forward and gazed into his eyes on the other side of the display screen. "Venom will never _completely_ follow you. If you were to lead the military as Commander in Chief, that would be one thing… but Emperor? You're not their Emperor, Bowman. If they were to elect a president or a prime minister, they would not vote for you. You do not have their trust. They saw your squabbles with Andrew. Then the two of you sought to unify under one banner?" She scoffed, using her left paw to toss back a lock of her blue bangs. "A short time later, Andrew is mortally wounded and you have him frozen. They're not _idiots_. They know you were behind it so that you could rule everything yourself. It was political suicide on your part. They do not trust you. Be glad I'm around to clean up your messes."

Again, Dash fidgeted. She watched him for a moment then he looked up at her from the flat plastic viewpad in her lap. "We're in this together, aren't we?"

She glared at him. "Are you reduced to a sniveling child? Do you want me to redeem your shattered ego, now?" She lifted both of her paws and sighed dramatically with an apologetic looking expression on her face. "Dash, darling friend… Dash Bowman, the man who restored me from death… You're the reason I'm no longer religious… I want you to understand something, Dash: I respect you. But my respect is meaningless. We are more than friends… we are Venom's new military party. But if we're in this 'together', they'll disrespect me. They'll see it the way they saw you and Andrew. They'll think you're in charge and he's _dead to the world_ for a lack of better words. If they disrespect you, and if I'm your sidekick, then how can you ask them to respect me?"

He chewed on his lower lip in thought. Bowman shook his head. "You should become the leader in the public eye. You'll run Venom. I'll rule things from behind a curtain and direct the military campaigns. Then we can rebuild Venom. We'll do it like they did on Corneria: we'll have recruitment centers and give the recruiters a quota. We'll promise money to enlistee's families should they die. We'll promise the enlistee money for education and base this money on the new economy that will provide for global Venom."

"If only it were that easy," she murmured. "Set your small plans into motion. Set up the recruitment facilities, although your fantasy promises of money will only anger them further if you cannot deliver. Set it all in motion, Dash. However, you cannot simply bow out."

"Oh?"

Kursed nodded slowly. "Venom respects power. I will defeat you in combat. Instead of killing you, I will take mercy on you and give you a position of military leadership and explain that I've… _sensed_ that you have a very… ah… tactical mind. I'll organize a democratic vote and allow them to vote for the both of us. Because I'll have defeated you, they'll vote for me and, as you know, people stand behind those they've voted for until proven wrong. I won't prove them wrong. There will be no need to campaign. They'll vote in two weeks, long enough to arrange a way to properly count the votes. Once we've tallied the popular vote, if you've lost then I will become leader of Venom. But… because you've restored me and I am… indebted to you… you'll run things from behind a curtain."

"Why… should we do the vote if we both agree that this is a solution?"

"Because you cannot govern the people without consent of the governed. We will let them feel as though they are apart of something on a larger scale… choosing their leader. This will give them a sense of purpose. The worst that can happen is they will vote for YOU and we'll both realize that you already have the support of this planet. However, I doubt such an outcome. You have your advice from me – set up the recruiting centers and organize the voting poles. We'll stage our duel very soon then announce their right to vote for us. See to it. I will contact you again shortly." She closed the channel and groaned. "What an imbecile! I should have _killed him_ for bringing me back to life. But…" She trailed off and began pacing the command deck. The doors opened at one end. Bliss and Carey stepped onto the bridge.

Kursed smirked. "So, you've come to confront me. Very clever, listening in on our conversation. I am impressed that Carey managed to break the encryption." She glanced over at the girls. "Telepathy is a wonderful thing and I've saved you the trouble of blathering. What else do you want?"

"Why are you manipulating your way into a position of power over Venom?" O'Donnell took a seat at the tactical station. Carey settled down at the communication terminal. "And I thought you lost your most recent memories. You were talking about things that you supposedly lost… like Dash taking over Venom after the fall of the Anglar Empire… and then Dash losing to Star Fox and placing blame on Andrew Oikonny."

"It's strange… I've recently had a breakthrough. But that's not _all_ that I remembered," she mused with a subtle shrug. "Bliss, my little sidekick, you hate me. You're angry that I've ordered Marcus McCloud to his death because your brother cared for him. You even tell your brother things, as if I didn't _know_. Again, I'm telepathic. Yet I keep you around. Do you know why?"

"Because you need my girlfriend to make your effing bomb."

Kursed opened her arms and smiled in a delighted manner. "Yes! But that's not all!" She brought her palms together. "You show such promise. You're a clear-headed thinker and you impress me. Bliss, I forgive your trespasses but I need to know one thing… if Corneria were to be destroyed, would you come after me? I need to know that, despite angering you, do I still have your loyalty? I want to hear you say it."

"You can't destroy Corneria… Only the creator could destroy an entire planet. And why would you want to? Lylat is the most unique system in known existence… EVERY single planet in the system can sustain life. We have _two_ stars. It's the most prosperous system ever. If you go trying to destroy the Creator's work… religious or not, you're asking for some seriously _bad karma_. But no, I could care less about the people on that planet save for my brother."

"I would allow him to live," said the sapphire vixen. "But I require Corneria's population to disappear because I have plans for that planet. Please do not be offended when I tell you that the Creator does not exist and that I have proof. Please do not be angry when I explain that Katina will disappear as well. You see, dear, I've regained some of my memories… and despite what I've apparently done in my universe… alleged destruction of entire worlds… that was needless and a waste. I've clearly realized what my purpose is now that I've been brought back to life."

"This should be good," Bliss said to Carey with a roll of her eyes. "Lay it on us, Aunty K." The hybrid smirked and leaned back in her chair, slouching a bit.

Venom's new leader leaned back in her chair at the center of the bridge and rotated it towards them. "Girls, I have the geneticist, Doctor Andross, to thank for my plan. Using the work he left behind on genetic modification and engineering, I will clone myself. I will clone the only surviving male Cerinian in existence… the _son_ of the _late_ Marcus McCloud. I will biogenetically engineer his DNA and remove Cornerian modifiers. I will make subtle changes to his DNA and my own so that we're no longer truly related and that there will be no possibility for genetic inbreeding flaws. I will create a village of these people, males and females, and place them on Corneria. It will be renamed New Cerinia and I will be the mother of my own race. Katina will become Meredith, the moon of old Cerinia… and will be the second colony. Venom and Sauria will be the worlds of my warrior race, the reptiles that will protect Lylat. The remaining planets will be populated with Cornerians that I allow to live. Eladard, Papetoon, Fichina and the rest… they will live with Cerinians as their scholars and leaders, for _leaders_ need a _people_ to lead. We will become the most prosperous civilization, a trinity of peace and unity. These three races will come together as a great union under one banner. And, when I've deemed them ready, we will lead our great new nation against the Kew and destroy their 'telepath hunters'. Then our people will be truly safe in this galaxy. That is my legacy."

"Whoa…" Bliss ran her paw up through her headfur. "You're going to kill billions of people on two planets so that you can colonize them with your homegrown version of Adam and Eve? Fantastic. And what are you going to do with the billions upon billions of bodies?"

"They'll return to dust during the terra-forming sequence." She watched Bliss and Carey's eyes widen. Kursed smiled inwardly, sensing their shock. "It's not the gentle way that Andross managed for Venom. He spent a decade of his time to create a way to terra-form a planet without destroying the current inhabitants. It wasn't true terra-forming, because all he did was restore balance to the atmosphere and ecosystem that was _already_ in place. I'm going to reformat those planets like a hard disc drive. It will be fresh and clean and empty. I will pass down the knowledge of old Cerinia and impart it to the new inhabitants of Corneria and Katina… and teach them the ways of their people, their culture and their past. I will become the mother of the new home world and make it as it once was."

O'Donnell sighed. "I know it sucks to be the last of your kind and all… but this is a little extreme. You're talking about genocide on a level unheard of by anyone. You're talking about the mass murder of approximately _twenty billion_ people. You're talking about sparing _maybe_ two billion combined people, counting everyone on Sauria and everyone left alive on Venom _and_ the other planets - plus another _three_ billion people on Eladard city, which is only the size of a moon. Let's see… twenty billion _dead_ people… five billion total survivors. Why… _why_ would you be _okay_ with wiping out _eighty percent_ of Lylat's population?"

"Because they're unnecessary." Kursed folded her paws. "The answers to my destiny lie on Sauria. The Krazoan technology of the past is the key to my future. We're headed there, now. Dash thinks that Sauria is a worthless chunk of rock that _never_ had any value. He's a true idiot. I'm nearly running out of patience with him. His usefulness is now questionable."

"Kill'em," said Carey with a shrug.

"Not yet," murmured the sapphire-furred woman with a frown. "All in due time. That would be like cutting off my pinky fingers because they're useless to me. It's more trouble than it's worth. I'll keep the pinkies; Dash will stay around for now. Utilizing him to keep a grip on Venom is the same as utilizing that small finger on each paw to hold an apple. I have a _slightly_ better grip with it, even though they're otherwise useless digits." She abruptly changed the subject. "So, I'll need you girls to finish up with the creation of this bomb for me."

"I'm having trouble," muttered Granton in a sour voice. "If people die by turning to dust, I'll mourn them… but liquefying their organs with radiation is… disgusting."

Kursed lifted a paw and smiled. "I'm not about to use it on people. I no longer wish to use it to kick-start a 'gravity bomb' because I no longer wish to return home. I've decided to use its unparalleled blasting power to unearth the most advanced technology beneath Sauria. The forcepoint temples _pale in comparison_ to this machine… I _need it _to finish changing the face of Lylat. This 'nuclear' weapon will help me to unearth my destiny as we do not possess the manpower to mine it out in our lifetime." She waved a paw at the girls and smiled. "You're both dismissed. Finish my bomb, please."

* * *

**"I don't quite follow, Fox,"** said Krystal with a frown. The two mates linked arms as they walked through the dusty trail together. Foliage grew densely in this region with the jungle overtaking the scenery in the distance. "Andross's research wound up on Kursed's computers… I follow that. And she had information on Sauria that suggests that the Krazoa were the first sentient life forms in Lylat. I understand that, too. They were a technologically advanced civilization a million years ago and it's obvious they were brilliant… they managed to invent two force point temples and four energy charged stones used to keep the world in one piece… that's incredibly complex technology, the likes of which none of our civilizations – yours nor my own – has ever heard of… not to mention it still works and holds the planet together after its inventors have been gone for a million years… metallic objects rust away to dust in a few centuries. Concrete and stone erodes away in a few millennia. For several temples to survive a million years of tectonic shifting, not to mention the force point temples still function after this long… it's truly amazing. But how does the rest of this come to play?"

"From what Slippy and I could figure, while reading these files… it looks like Kursed destroyed Sauria in her universe so she could sift through the debris of the planet. She was looking for something. She destroyed Fichina to test out the power of the spellstones, using them to push a planet apart. It was just a random target; a victim of circumstance."

"That's awful," she said, pushing leaves from her way. "But what about the terra-forming bit?"

"That's what she was _really_ after. Apparently Lylat's 'Goddess', creator of all things, is the Krazoa. From what Andross has learned by studying the planet, they were the first sentient life forms. They created a telekinetic amplifier to control the chaos of floating debris in Lylat. They designed a machine built into the planet and fired it into the cosmos, seeking to play 'God'. They turned one planet into a second star, which we now know as Solar. They used the telekinetic amplification device to bring rocks and rubble together to create planets from all the asteroids in our system. Then they used this supposed machine to terra-form it into a world and create an atmosphere. We've always wondered why the Lylat system is the only system in existence where _every single planet_ sustains life; haven't you wondered about that? It's apparently because of the Krazoa. Their world was dying from pollution and so they wished to branch out and colonize other worlds. Some stayed on what we now call Sauria. But the planet was pushed into death."

She looked around at all the lush green plant life, trying to imagine the planet as a dying, polluted chunk of rock but it seemed far-fetched. "But Sauria is beautiful," she murmured. "Then what?"

"The planet started to break apart from using the terra-forming machine, or perhaps Sauria broke apart _first_ and they invented the machine because they were worried the spellstones wouldn't hold it together; Andross' research claims he can't decide what came first. He decided to assume the terra-forming machine came first and it caused the planet to crack. The machine was fired from the planet's surface and apparently used thermal energy from the core to power it. Those who stayed were probably worried that the planet coming apart would be dangerous to their newly colonized neighbors so they all came together and invented the two force point temples and the four spell stones. They work, even after a million years, they _still_ work. I can't even imagine how the things were designed. Technology working for a million years without maintenance? That's… just impressive." McCloud glanced off to the left then cut his eyes back to the path. The jungle was growing closer, now.

"It's incredible that they would survive the test of time," she mused.

Fox nodded in agreement. "According to Andross' research that was found on Kursed's databanks, it claims that the Krazoan people that remained on Sauria were dying from the pollution. It was deadly to their bodies and they couldn't adapt to the air quality. The last few survivors sent some of the reptiles to Venom so that they wouldn't all die out. Then _they_ left the planet. However, they wanted to find something new besides what they've created in Lylat. Once in deep space, the group became split on an unknown issue. Some settled on Kew the rest settled on Cerinia. And, so, both my race and your race has descended from the same ancestors with a million years of evolution to make us different."

Krystal nodded. "And the people of Cerinia focused themselves to becoming telepathic. The people of Kew, some of them at least, devoted themselves to travel and became adept at teleportation. They watched our people and when a telepath became powerful and harmful, they were the watchers and hunters that took down the telepath. It's nearly impossible to telepathically prepare yourself for someone that can teleport behind you and take you down in the blink of an eye. You'll never see it coming from such a distance."

"I don't know much about those things," Fox replied. "The lizards evolved on Venom and created a highly cultured civilization. Then they went to war against mammals on Titania. They wiped one another out. The people of Corneria would go into hiding during those wars and they would stay beneath ground until the system-wide fighting ended. Because of the interplanetary fighting, no one in Lylat was able to elevate their brain functions with the likes of telepathy or teleportation… but Andross, while he was on Venom, learned of a machine similar to the one used on Sauria… it was a telekinetic amplification device… he didn't have the same creative vision as the Krazoa… instead, he used it to hurl things at StarFox. A lot of good it did him though, we still kicked his butt back to the Stone Age."

"I hate to say it, Fox, but violence has kept Lylat from becoming as civilized and as sophisticated as your genetic cousins."

He slipped a paw around her waist and drew her close. "That's why I married you… I wanted a little culture and sophistication in my life." He swished his tail, happy to be closer to her. "That means Marcus is the brightest star in Lylat."

Krystal turned her head towards her husband. "That was a very _bad_ pun, Fox."

"I…" He thought about it… the _brightest 'Star' in Lylat_. He groaned and shook his head. "Not intentional. I was trying to be sweet to you." He gave her rump a playful swat and said, "But I love you anyway."

She smiled brightly and nuzzled gently into him. "Fox, you referred to the Krazoa as playing 'Goddess' by creating the system. Do you still believe in religion?" The topic appeared to concern her.

Fox placed his paw against the small of her back and smiled. "Krystal, just because the Krazoa created all of us and everything in Lylat does _not_ mean a one true being of higher power _doesn't_ exist. After all, _who_ created the Krazoa?"

She placed her head on his shoulder and the topic of religion was dropped. "I take it Kursed never found the terra-forming machine while rooting through the rubble of post-Sauria… What do you suppose she would want with it?"

"I'm not sure," he said with a sigh. "But no, she didn't find it according to her databank records. She believes that she may have destroyed it inadvertently when the planet came apart. She believes that it may have been built INTO the planet, using the core as part of the battery. When Sauria came apart, so to did the terra-forming machine. This is all speculation on Andross and believe me, sweetheart, his word doesn't hold a lot of meaning to me but… I read through some of those files because I wanted to know what we're dealing with. This girl is fanatical. She needs to be stopped. Dash was insane to bring her back if it's true he's the one who pulled it off. We've got to stop her before she can try to obtain it. I just can't figure out why Andross did so much research on it to begin with, let alone how she obtained his files."

Krystal lowered her eyes to the ground. "It makes sense that Andross would have done so much research on terra-forming and the technology of the Krazoa. He's the one who invented the machine that restored Venom, after all. But the machine used by the Krazoa… would it have the same effect?"

"No," said Fox. He took a leafy branch and pushed it aside for his wife. They continued down the trail, which grew darker from the thick jungle vegetation starting to spring up around them. "Other worlds didn't exist yet. The Krazoa had to do more than fix a preexisting atmosphere… they had to make things from scratch, so their machine would wipe out whatever is already in existence and create something fresh and new."

The little blue vixen swallowed. "It would be akin to reformatting a computer. Everything that was once in there… gone. The information would be replaced by all _new_ things… but the old things would be removed then re-written over. If we can find it, this machine has the potential to be the most dangerous weapon we've ever encountered, Fox. We have to stop that from happening. We can't let it fall into her possession. I told Marcus we were coming to Sauria to relax so that he wouldn't worry but this may very well be the most important mission we've ever undertaken."

McCloud shrugged. "If it even exists after a million years. Tectonic activities probably destroyed it."

"Not if it was built into the planet _beneath_ the tectonic plates, love. It would be safe there. Perhaps they even made the planet come apart, using the force point temples in order to design the machine and build it into the ground… then they used the force point temples to bring it back together and hold it in place? That's one way they could access it with ease. It would be like forcing the planet to lift its hood in order to work on the engine from time to time." Krystal and Fox continued into the jungle, which became surprisingly dense after only a short distance.

"It's very possible," said Fox. "Andross is interpreting million year old eroded writings. He's following up with theories and whatever he read that was left over on Kew or Cerinia when he arrived there. Anything is possible. In theory, the Krazoa might not have done squat. Cerinia might have come to Lylat and colonized it to become neighbors with the Krazoan people. The Krazoa may have later died out, while the rest of Lylat prospered, but the young Lylat colonies never evolved their higher brain functions like those in the 'old system', back on Cerinia. Anything is possible and _everything_ is speculation. Andross has a _theory_ but sometimes theories are _very wrong_. But one thing _is_ true… you and I are compatible; our son is proof of that fact. Genetically, physically, mentally, spiritually… and our marriage works _really well_. So I'm not complaining."

Up ahead one of the long lost temples rose from the ground. They began to ascend the stairs to the top. Once they were in the canopy of the trees, they looked out over the hills and valleys in the distance. Fox began searching the roof for a way to get inside when his wife tugged at his sleeve and pointed to the sky.

McCloud looked up at the cloudy arc of a ship's vapor trail as it entered the atmosphere. He glanced back at Krystal with a frown. "What's wrong?"

"It's her… I sense her. She's here. And she senses me although I believe she's currently preoccupied with some matter of agenda. I'll do my best to block her so that she can't find us… but she now knows that I'm here and she'll be on the lookout for me. I saw her on Titania when I was with Marcus, love. She's difficult to read and very dark. It's like standing besides something haunted… being near her makes the hair on the back of my neck fluff up."

He swallowed back slight nervousness. "Do your best to block her. Let's keep our focus, here. Right now, we're several steps ahead of her. Let's keep it that way."

* * *

**GreatFox sat in a drydock cage **on Corneria. Space Dynamics logo tarps covered each porthole and workers milled around the hallways. The door to his quarters swished open and Fara Phoenix walked in, dressed to impress. She had a purse with her and a portfolio in her other paw. She placed the envelope full of files on his coffee table and said, "I'm here to pick you up. Did you miss me? I was at work all day, honey, being the breadwinner of this family."

Marcus adjusted his tie in the mirror then turned to Fara, grinning at her playful humor. He knew she'd been out all day working with the people from Phoenix Enterprises to settle some things in regards to the recent prisoner transfer and in helping GreatFox when their engines went down the other day. She also had been invited to a press release concerning General Grey's return and so he'd not seen her yet until now. Marcus's eyes flitted over her and he offered an appraising smile. His paws dropped to his sides so as not to block the tie he wore. "Did I get it right? Dad showed me."

She grinned and placed her palm against the fabric of the tie, looking him over. "When a woman sees a man she likes dressed up just the right way…" She ran her fingers down over the tie much the same way Violet had only a year ago. "You clean up nicely. You're getting better with the tie knot," she added.

Marcus grinned at her, sensing her attraction. "You should see things on my end." He reached for her paws and eased them away from the tie, pushing thoughts of Violet out of his head. She wore a black dress, simple and elegant with a slit in the side that offered a hint of thigh to the beholder. Everything was form fitting and opulent. She offered her arm to him and he linked his elbow into hers. McCloud's door opened and a man with metallic hoses coiled over a shoulder walked by in overalls.

"So what time did you set the reservations for?" asked Phoenix.

He offered her a slight grin and a nod. "Hey, I'm dead. I have all the time in the world." He caught her sidelong glance and said, "Nineteen hundred hours, sweetheart. Bill and Fay said it was definitely worth seeing – best theatre production, all that jazz. I've never done this whole 'lying low' thing before."

"You never had to," she chuckled with a shake of her head. "Don't worry so much about it – low lighting and the evening ambiance make it difficult to tell your fur has a tint of blue to it. It looks close enough to gray that people will just assume you're a swift fox or something. That's why I wanted to go out for an evening date."

"Sounds good to me." He stopped by the bridge and grinned at Ted and Vivian. "You guys are _always_ hanging out here. Is it more interesting than the rec room?"

Vivian lit up, seeing Fara and Marcus dressed for a night on the town. "Well, it seems like every time we leave the bridge, something comes up. So I sit here and play around online. Ted sits here and watches internet videos of college kids doing dumb stuff with a video camera. Life is good; no one bothers us. Besides, even when we're doing the same stuff in our quarters, it's nice to have company."

Ted grinned at the couple. "Yeah, we're both the kind of people that like having someone around to talk to. If I see something especially funny, I like sharing it with someone, so Vivian watches and laughs with me and… yeah. Life's good."

Fara chuckled softly as a show of good natured-ness. "Cheers, you two. I won't be wearing my headset." She lifted her purse a little then put it back on her shoulder. "I've got my handheld so call us if anything comes up."

Vivian approaches the two foxes. She stood back a little more than arm's length with her paws up, outstretched with her thumbs together as if to make a frame. "You two are an adorable couple. Fara, girl, you cleaned him up well. Even I'm envious. You did real good."

Marcus cut a grin at Fara who looked regal, pleasant and smiled so as to look neither snobbish nor giddy in reply to Vivian's kind words. However, he could sense the fennec's secret pride. She winked playfully then gave McCloud's paw a gentle tug so they wouldn't be late. Vivian returned to her seat on the bridge and relaxed by drawing her feet up underneath of herself. By contrast, she wore pajamas with, of all things, _bunny slippers_.

Out in the hall, the two pilots headed for the cruiser's flight deck. A gangplank took them down to the warehouse floor where various repair vehicles and small tractors with carts of workers zipped by. McCloud glanced over his shoulder at the enormous combined GreatFox ships. He looked around at the impressive dome that covered the work area then released Fara's paw and put his arm around her. "You're going to be awarded a medal for rescuing General Grey. So is Miyu and mom. You guys did really good."

"I know. Everyone did their part and worked their tails off. But the truth is… we're lucky to have survived it." Phoenix leaned into him, glad for the comfort of his arm. "It's nice to lower my defenses for once. It's nice to feel safe and not have to worry about things, even if it's just for a little while. Plus, you can sense when we're in danger so… I feel that much _more_ safe letting my guard down when I'm around you."

"This is shaping up to be a good evening already," he told her. "I've got the bad guys on the run, my team rescued the General and I've got the girl. Man code of honor, rule three – it's all good if you've got the girl. And if you don't have her yet, find or rescue her right away. It works for almost all video games, all movies and it works in real life." He nuzzled up to her as the two crossed the titanic hanger. Up near the far wall, they were given a ride by one of the transit drivers and taken all the way out to the front gates. There, waiting by a quiet curb, was an outstanding and shiny new convertible. The red roadster chirped and its parking lights flashed as Fara neared it.

She cut her eyes back, seeing his eyes widen. "You like it? I've only put two hundred miles on it."

"But I didn't know you even owned one of these!"

She beamed. "You know you want to drive it. I have a thing for red sports cars. I always have. Why don't you have some fun?" She passed him the keys. She didn't need to have telepathy to know he was excited and bottling his emotions. She could tell because his heart was beating harder. "Go on."

He moved around to the driver's side and slid into the seat. The high tech seat morphed around him, conforming to his body until it cradled him. His tail sank through a small hole at the slope of the bucket seat and the 'start engine' button flashed from the proximity of the keypad. He set the plastic key unit in a cup holder and used his index claw to touch the ignition button. The car roared to life and lifted slowly, hovering only mere inches from the ground.

Fara settled into the passenger seat and placed her purse down by her ankles. "Like it?"

He gripped the wheel and squeezed the leather-like wrapping that coated the wheel. It creaked in reply beneath his touch. "Oh my _god_ this car is insane!" His eyes cut to the center console. "Where's the shifter?"

She nodded to the steering wheel. "The manual version is in my personal garage. This one has _those_." She watched him ease his fingers over the wheel, brushing his fingertips against the tap-shifter paddles.

Marcus shook his head slowly as if in disbelief. "I _never_ get to see the _rich girl_ side of you. You're always so simple, clean cut and uncomplicated. _This_ is _amazing_." He touched his fingertips against the shifter and put it into second gear, easing slowly forward. "I'm going to start off in a higher gear because I'm not used to the torque… what're the specs on this thing anyhow?"

"Only the finest," she said in reply. "Fifteen hundred horsepower and an equal fifteen hundred foot-pounds of torque. When we're not around society, I'll let you floor it and redline every gear."

"Redline…? Why would I do that to your car?"

"Because these cars are _designed_ to be driven aggressively." She reached over and placed a paw on his knee. "We'll play around with it after the show. Get us to the theatre without getting a speeding ticket. You're supposed to be dead; giving out your license would prove otherwise. It's your choice, babe." She then side-nodded towards the road. "You're clear for takeoff, flyboy."

* * *

_Six hours later…_

**Marcus's paws moved firmly **over the backside of Fara's legs, massaging the muscles and petting the soft, silky fur. She murred from the leg rub, face down on his bed in a state of complete undress. Her head was resting on a pillow that she cradled in her arms. Her smooth voice was like music. "I never asked earlier – how was your day?"

He continued to caress the backsides of her legs. "It didn't start until I saw _you_," he said softly. "The romance was the best part," he added.

"Was it now?" She closed her eyes and smiled into the pillow. "You're okay with us taking things this slow? I was thinking we could take the next step soon." She rolled onto her back and gazed up at his body. Her eyes trailed over his physique, his demeanor and his posture. "After all, you're an attractive man and in your prime. I agree foreplay is delightful but we've been together since… well, since your parents returned to Lylat. We're already acting like we're going steady. I wouldn't mind taking things to the next level."

He could sense her intentions. Bill and Fay becoming betrothed inspired her. It wasn't that she wanted an engagement ring but she was certainly entertained by the idea of a promissory ring. She was equally entertained by taking their relationship up a notch. Marcus ran his palms up over her body. "I would be honored to make love to you," he said in a soft, respectful tone of voice. "I was thinking about what Bill said to Fay – I mean we _all_ listened in, even though he turned the camera towards the ceiling that day. A symbol of my affection and my love for you… that would be a good idea. Something simple but with meaning… but it doesn't have to be a ring."

"Oh? You had something else in mind?" Her curiosity was piqued.

"I was thinking of something with a little more meaning." He slid off the mattress and moved to his dresser drawer then opened it. Inside, there was a locket with a shining gem inside. He came back to the bed and settled besides her, holding up the locket by its chain. He opened it and showed her the gem given to him by Marcus of Cerinia in his dream. He never managed to ascertain how he ohysically acquired it. He recalled that he was unconscious in a hospital bed (_Chapter 15 of Next Generation_) but he'd had it in his possession ever since that day. "This is the last known piece of my world… my culture. It was given to me not too long ago… I'm not even sure how I received it but… I've had tests done on it… it's not from Lylat. It's from Cerinia. It matches the geological properties of my mother's jewelry… they came from the same world. This is precious to me, just like _you_ are precious to me, Fara. I want you to wear it. So long as you wear it… a little piece of me will _always_ be with you."

She took it into her palms and cherished the gift. He reached for the chain and she lowered her head submissively. Kneeling on the mattress, behind her, he fastened the clasp in the back and it hung from her neck. She turned to face her boyfriend and leaned up until their lips met. The two began a delightful kiss and she reached for him.

McCloud lowered the vixen down upon her back and moved over her. Her arms enveloped him and he cupped either side of her face. Without breaking the lip-lock, she thought the words, '_It's time. I want you to make love to me. I've waited long enough to give myself to you, Marcus._'

He nodded and gazed into her eyes. The kiss ended and his nose touched hers. Her paws moved over his body, guiding him. He sensed her needs, physically and otherwise… He leaned down and whispered into her ear. She shuddered beneath him, arching her body upwards in reply to his soft whispers of promise, fidelity and love. He said all the right things and her body hummed with desire.

Marcus pinned her to the mattress and touched her in all the right ways with all the right words. He was firm and his caress was something she melted into with ease. She found herself surprised that he had such an effect on her heart and her body – everything he did caused her to fall deeper in love from that moment on. The two lovers mated and found it intoxicating. Their shared passion felt like fate. Fara questioned why she had waited _this long_ to join with Marcus… had she known it would be _this_ good, she wouldn't have waited a single day since meeting him. She loved him before… but now… she decided that she _needed_ him in her life. After this night… everything would be different; it would be _better_.

For the first time in their courtship, their hearts sang as one. The physical unity changed the dynamics of their relationship. With every passing moment, Marcus fell deeper in love with her. Linked together and tied at the heart, they created a new bond of passion and true love. It became a night that neither would ever forget.

For Marcus, physical joining was _never_ this good with Violet. All thoughts of her were forgotten. The wound she'd inflected on his heart was now finally healed. The two lovers shared blissful sensuality both tactile and corporeal. They also enjoyed the emotional connection; their connection created a bond. They held one another, lovingly, strengthening that bond for the remainder of the evening.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

**Kursed folded her arms** with a smirk. She sensed something in the back of her mind. Recognizing it caused her head to tilt. A brief memory played out, recognizing the face of a person from brief flashback. She shook it off then shifted her weight and refolded her arms and cleared her throat as if expectantly. The leader of the Sharpclaw tribe stood directly across from her.

The assembly of reptiles was all around the same age, none were in their teens and not a single lizard was beyond twenty-something years of age. The leader was the tallest and strongest of the group. "You've got our interest, girl. But we could never follow someone who is an inferior warrior. Fight me. Even if you lose, I'll judge your heart on how strong of a warrior you are. I'll decide if you're worthy to lead our people to join our cousins on Venom."

"If you survive, I'll make you a commander in my new military." She smiled somewhat and turned to Bliss O'Donnell. "Ladies, you've both done a remarkable job of helping me. Now that your work is complete, you may stay around a bit longer or take your leave. Bliss, I'm sure you need to report everything to your brother as you do way too often. I could care less at this point." She saw the hybrid wolf-vixen's expression. "What? You didn't think I knew? I mentioned it earlier, did I not? However, if you'd like to leave," Kursed shook her head with a knowing grin and a shrug. "Well, dear, now is the time. You may take the ship with you so you have a way off the planet. Dash will be sending troop transporter ships for my new future allies," she explained, confidently gesturing to the assembled Shawpclaw leaders.

Bliss shook her head slowly. "I already know you'll win so there's really no reason to stick around. But if you need a mercenary squadron in the near future… look me up."

Kursed narrowed her gaze. "Why? So you can leak my whereabouts to your brother again? You have _some_ promise, but the O'Donnell clan is otherwise nothing special, Bliss. Why would I hire a team led by an O'Donnell? Dash hired your father's team and they've done nothing. They didn't stop Grey from escaping; they didn't stop your second _cousin_ by marriage – the one with the blue fur – from getting away. Oh, wait, surprise… I know about that, too. Yes, what a _big surprise_! Your mother is related to Fox McCloud. As if I didn't know."

Gray-furred Bliss gritted her teeth. "It's not like the _entire Reinard_ family died when Vixy was killed. It _might_ be possible that there's a little genealogy going on…"

"Oh shut up," replied the vixen with a roll of her eyes. "Marcus McCloud is your cousin, I know _exactly_ how the bloodline _really_ works. Listen to me, I'm going to tell you something else… something you _didn't_ know and something _I_ didn't know until a little while ago…"

"What?" She glanced at Carey then back to Kursed.

"I sensed him. Something has happened to him in the last half an hour that is making Marcus McCloud radiate with such intensity that I'm able to sense him – I'm not sure but I _think_ he's experiencing _love_. He's consumed with this sensation. So there… he's alive. You can stop hating me for murdering your silly little cousin. The funny thing is… he doesn't even _know_ he's related to _you_. What he does for your brother is purely out of respect and friendship. So, are you happy? Your good-for-nothing family member is _alive_."

Bliss swallowed back embarrassment and frustration. She turned to Carey, took the woman's wrist and they left together. The ten tall lizards and Kursed waited until the two females were out of the chamber. Finally, Kursed looked back at the leader and nodded. "What did you call yourself? General Scales? I can't imagine why you would have chosen _his _name. That tyrant wasn't able to do anything but bully people. Poorly, I might add."

"You _insult_ Scales?" said the leader in shock. "How dare you do such a thing?"

"He was an idiot. I could have destroyed him without even trying."

The leader gritted his teeth. "I will give you two options… you either die in my claws or you _kill me_ and prove to my people that you're worthy to lead them. They will respect the power of the victor and to that person goes the spoils. But your insult has angered me… and this combat will now go all the way to the death."

"Why would you throw your life away over something as silly as an insult?" She shook her head and shrugged. "Its your life, '_Scales_'. If you strive to be like the namesake you've chosen… you'll die meaninglessly in the same way he died. Without honor or any sort of legacy."

"YOU HOLD YOUR TONGUE!" he shouted. "YOUR OFFENSIVE WORDS CEASE! WE NOW FIGHT!"

"Very well." She preened, stepping into the grooved box cut into the ground. "I sense you have no siblings – it's no great loss for you to die. You won't be remembered if you die now, before I lead you and your Venomian cousins into battle against Lylat and, later, against the Kew… I'm sorry you choose to throw away your life."

He screamed at the top of his lungs then charged her rather abruptly. She brought her paws forward and when he struck her extended palms, he was thrown backwards. Scales rolled over and over until a cloud of dust filled the cavernous dwelling.

"This is why your parents are _all dead_. They charged headlong into the Aparoid invaders and not a single one of them survived. In fact, your whole clan was thought to have been extinct. I'm surprised you even _know_ who Scales is – he died while you were still crawling."

The man got to his feet and sneered at her. "We've learned to read Cornerian since their resort colonies have begun littering the globe. By reading, I know of Scales. I don't know what trickery you've used against me but you won't hold out very long!"

She watched him, entertained by his tenacity. The sharpclaw lizard moved towards her again. He brought his fists together and swung his arms but she ducked his attack. Using her people's ancient fighting technique, Dahn Daju (C4 – Reflections of Krystal), she struck her palm against his gut and threw him backwards. Then the little blue vixen reached out towards him. Using her advanced telekinetic abilities that she'd gained since losing her memories, Kursed pulled him back. He sailed through the air where she intercepted his form and flipped him over onto his back. Dust floated up around him on all sides.

"I'm pleased that your people can learn," she said. "If you were civilized enough to understand technology better… well, let's just say you would have a fair chance against me. Face to face, dear, you have no hopes of winning. I hope you've come to your senses. I'll need your help in marching across Lylat. If you want to be a true hero of the people, change your name and fight for me."

"You must apologize for your insults to a great leader!" He picked himself up and dusted himself off, ready to fight again. "Or you must kill me."

"Are you sure you want to _know_ death?" She blinked, having a flashback to a personal battle in her old universe. All she did to achieve victory was to envision the victim's entrails then telepathically force that image into the attacker's mind. She attempted to make it happen. Seconds later, the lizard dropped to his knees, clutching at his torso. He was in shock at what he saw, causing her to smile brightly. "Ready to admit defeat?"

"I… how did you…?" He lifted his head slowly. "So long as there is breath in my body, I will fight!" He launched himself upwards and rushed her.

For now, she was content to play with him. The lithe vixen strafed to the left. As he dove by her in passing, she captured his tail in her paws. He stopped in mid flight and dropped to the ground. With what appeared to look like incredible ease, she pivoted, holding him by the tail. As she spun about, his body flailed about. Combining her telekinesis with her physical actions, she managed to fool the assembly into thinking she was stronger than imaginable. After the third time, she flung him into the wall.

Scales immediately got to his feet but abruptly staggered over his next step. He was dazed and suffering from an apparent head injury. His right eye turned inward in an unnatural way. In an almost humble-sounding tone the dinosaur murmured, "You're an… impressive fighter… small fox girl. But we live by an omerta. You… you may be stronger than I've anticipated," he trailed off, pronouncing the last word with a slur.

She folded her arms across her chest. "But?"

He stumbled again then closed his right eye. The world stopped spinning and he locked his singular gaze on her form. "But I am able to endure much more than your body can give _or_ receive." His head cleared and he shook off the pain, ready to go again. "No matter the outcome of this fight, you won't be able to kill me outright because such a feat is beyond your strength. Once I've worn you down and killed you, I will honor your fighting skills by putting you on display out in front of this cave."

"If you end my life, I'll let you do whatever you desire to my body. If killed, I won't need it any longer. Is this your way of telling me you won't submit to me?"

"We must fight to the death," he replied. The sharpclaw lizard lifted his scaley hands again. "I'll eat your entrails." He paused then lowered his head, seeking that he was whole again. His eyes widened, realizing that what he'd seen earlier must have been a trick. "Your witchcraft will not work on me a second time."

"You started off as a worthy opponent," she mused, inspecting her white-painted claws. "But now you're boring me."

"Again, with the insults! I was showing you respect for your skills as a fighter and yet you MOCK me!" He charged at her again and opened his arms. He was ready to walk into any possible kick or punch in order to get his hands on her. His sole desire was to rip her into two halves and his mind radiated with anger.

Kursed crossed her wrists, paws extended. Once he was within range, she used her left wrist to push his jaw one direction and her right paw to turn his body in the other direction. The strike, using the stored inner chi, caused his neck to break instantly. She ducked down. His muscular frame, carried forward by momentum, flipped over her shoulder and landed on the ground motionless. She turned about and, like her doppelganger did back on Titania, Kursed spit on his dying body.

He couldn't lift his head from the crack in his upper spine. "We are… re-growing our numbers," he whispered from where he lay slumped on the ground. He was on his back but his legs were stuffed up beneath his horizontal form, causing his belly to bulge higher than his chest section. "We are now numerous and, until now, I've led in the reconstruction of our proud tribe." He again tried to lift his head or any other part of his body. He was paralyzed from the neck down. He knew he'd been beaten. "You… are now the leader. Stand tall and do not lead my people to their death." His voice grew softer with each word, unable to properly draw breath.

"It's truly a shame you had to be so foolish about this," she retorted. "I even offered you a position of rank. You've now amounted to your hero… General Scales. You'll die penniless in combat against an inferior opponent without even getting the chance to make a difference." She knelt besides him, waited for him to die, then she reached down his torso and withdrew a large knife. To the horror of the surrounding sharpclaw leaders, she removed his head.

Once it was cleanly separated, she tossed the knife to the ground and lifted his head up high by the spiky mane, careful not to get his blood on her clothing. "DO YOU ALL SEE THIS?" she asked in a demanding tone. "THIS…! THIS IS WEAKNESS! He was more powerful, taller, faster and able to endure far greater physical punishment! He SHOULD have had an ADVANTAGE over me! I defeated him in a matter of minutes! MINUTES!" She approached one of the lizards and shoved the bloody head into his arms, creating a sanguine splotch on his clothing. "Post his head on a stake… a large pole with a sharpened point at one end. Put it up for display outside. Carve the word 'traitor' into his forehead with your dagger." She pointed to a knife on the man's hip.

Kursed began pacing before them. "I've given him several chances to join me. I even re-extended my offer during combat. I showed mercy and he refused it. I showed clemency and he demanded a fight to the death! I do not have time for a duel to the end, so when I grew tired of his gloating I ended the fight right away. Tell your people that I will be shipping them to Venom. They will be schooled! They will learn proper military training! You will learn how to act civilized! You will take a bath more than twice a month! You will learn patience, dignity and how to strategically overcome a greater opponent. It's possible; you've just witnessed me calmly strike down your leader in battle! I have faith that you will become known as a race of fierce fighters! I will make you great, like me, and you'll become the fiercest warriors in Lylat!"

The man with Scales' head looked up at her. "What shall we call you and what are your wishes?"

"My name is _Kursed_ but you may call me by my _title_! I am your new Empress. I wish for you to tell everyone of me. I wish for them to fear me but I want them to respect me. I'll begin shipping your people at dawn. Be ready." She stepped over the dead body and headed across the cavern with her paws folded behind her back. "Remember to tell them that I am from a world known as Cerinia. I am _not_ Cornerian. Corneria is my enemy and, when the time is right, they will be _your_ enemy as well." She left the small dwelling and stepped out into the sunlight to relax. Lylat was setting and Solar was in the west, casting a long shadow.

Her paw moved to her pocket and withdrew her communicator. She thumbed in several keys on the front and waited. Dash Bowman's visual appeared on the small screen. "Send your forces. Be here in ten hours. I've told them to be ready at sunup. Bring me another ship – I'll not be joining you right away because I have a few errands."

Bowman appeared confused. "What errands could you possibly have on Sauria? Are you going to remove the indigenous spellstones from the force point temples? I thought we agreed not to destroy any planets in _this_ Lylat."

"I have no desire to break the planet into pieces," she replied. "There is an ancient Krazoan machine that I wish to research. If it is here, I'll have you send an excavation party to help me retrieve it… however, there's a possibility that it is built into the planet. If this is the case, Venom will have to set up a base on this planet to protect it. I'll let you know one way or the other. Finally, I believe Marcus McCloud is still alive."

"WHAT! You assured me your assassin did his job! You said you couldn't sense him anymore!"

"Kyong Adler failed me worse than I initially realized." Kursed licked her lips, lifting her eyes to the sky. "Dash, I sensed him. He emitted a powerful emotion. The psychic burst was brief and, most likely, he did not intentionally discharge this raw passionate sentiment but… I felt him. Something has happened that caused him to feel _true love_ for the first time. It was something powerful. I sensed it and I recognized his mind… It even helped me regain some of my memories, although nothing more than a few flashbacks of the old universe." She paused then lowered her gaze back to the communicator with a smile. "I was quite the warlord in my past. I had no idea I was capable of such control over an entire system. Now that I've seen what I can do, I'm confident I can reproduce similar results."

Dash asked, "How did you gain the Sharpclaw clan's trust?"

"I brutally destroyed their leader in physical combat. It was the only way to win their respect. I tried diplomacy first but he grew offended; my options dwindled to aggressive negotiations. I am now their leader." She closed the communicator.

* * *

**A/N:** _So after recently glancing back through the first four chapters of Reflections of Krystal, I want to go back and touch up those first four chapters so that things tie together better throughout the series. Okay! So! This chapter is pretty over the top. Fara and Marcus make love and he's so happy that Kursed is able to sense he's still alive. Corneria to Sauria, that's a pretty big gap of space. Also, Kursed revealed her master plan to wipe out eighty percent of Lylat's population. But why did she tell BLISS? She KNOWS that Bliss will tell Crimson who, in turn, will relay everything to the surviving members of Star Fox. Why would she tell them? It's not disinformation – this really was her plan, after all. And what of her desire to retrieve Cerinian DNA from the SON of Marcus? Or will she settle for Marcus himself, since she now knows he's still alive? After all, his blood would be far more pure, because it's not as diluted with Cornerian genetics, right? Finally, we find out what Andross' research had to say about the Krazoa. I don't know if it was right or if it was speculation, but it claims that race was the first sentient race and the ancestors of both Fox and Krystal. A million years of evolution later… Fox and Krystal come together and have a child – Marcus. While a little over the top, the implications are pretty wild. Any thoughts? Good or bad? I see about three of you are still reading this story! Is anyone ELSE reading this story? Just curious!_

_At least let me KNOW if you are! I was looking at the view counter on each of the six stories in this series. Reflections of Marcus is the least read story besides Reflections of Peppy in the entire series, lol. SO PLEASE, let me know if you're still reading this story!  
__**:D**_


	15. Planning Period

A/N: _I've decided to tie up a few loose ends with the secondary and most of the important original characters. Why? Because after this chapter, I want to brush them aside for a little bit. I'd like to get back to more of the main plot – there's a lot going on after all. So, let's get a few subplots and side-situations out of the way real quick, shall we? _

Chapter -15-  
"Planning Period"

** Miyu's bobbed ears flickered** then her face scrunched up, anticipating pain. Finally, her breath caught followed by a long, slow groan that bordered on growling. She clinched her teeth, gasped and, last but not least, relaxed her body. "That _hurt_," she mouthed melodramatically. She looked up at Fara Phoenix and frowned, seeing the fennec's expression. "Oh, no you don't; don't you quit on me. I don't want a doctor, just keep going."

Fara glared at the lynx and dabbed the cloth in rubbing alcohol then dabbed it on Miyu's wound, causing the feline to flinch. "I'm _not_ qualified to dress burns except in emergencies. You need a _real_ doctor." She dropped the cloth back to the table next to the burn salve and folded her arms. "It's done. Just… go get a real doctor to look at this."

"I'm supposed to be laying low," said Miyu. "Just me and Fay; Bill Grey sits in a cell. I broke command and if I do anything other than hide out while Pepper cools off… just… no. I'm staying here on GreatFox and keeping my head down. He doesn't need to know I was injured because Jack will be even madder than before."

With a roll of her eyes, Fara tossed Miyu her shirt. "Okay, hold onto this so you have something to clinch. I'm going to put the bandages on, now. Let me deal with Jack Pepper. He should be _happy_ to have Grey back."

"He is but… I also defied orders from a_ General_ so he's _pissed_ because I could have cost Bill his life. If I go to a doctor, it goes on a report. That goes into my file. Jack Pepper would read the file and find out that I've been injured."

"You would be caught at your next physical _anyway_," said Fara, adding, "We're officially at war with Venom. You would receive a Would Chevron for your uniform. Then again, you _were_ engaging an enemy without official orders."

"I was engaging the enemy _against_ official orders. Even worse." Miyu grinned impishly then balled up her shirt and squeezed it in her fists. Her whiskers lay back along her short muzzle and her ears dropped flat. "I don't know what's worse… getting that strong tape in my fur and having to rip it off each time I change my dressings… or having the gauze put on while it's still hurting like that."

"Just relax. I peppered the backside of the gauze with a topical that will numb the pain. You're already busted, so what if you got wounded? You and Sarnoff are the only military members that went in and he's still there. Bill is a General and he outranks Roland and Pepper. Just relax, he'll keep you from getting in trouble because you saved his life. You risked your fur to pull the highest ranking military member out of a metaphorical fire. Maybe you can write a book about it some day and embellish everything to make it sound more heroic."

"That's not my style," said Lynx with another wince. She unballed her shirt, gave it a stern shake then asked, "Clip the clasps, would you?"

Fara nodded and carefully latched each of three small metal hooks on the back of Miyu's brazier. She then turned away and folded her arms while the feline got her shirt back on. "You can play the heart-strings feminine hero card."

The short-tailed cat slid off the medical bed and began buttoning up her blouse. "What the hell is that supposed to entail?"

A grin tugged at the corner of Phoenix's maw. "You tell'em that you lost your husband during a Venom attack. You tell them that your best friend, Fay Spaniel, was going through emotional trauma, worrying about Bill… and that you didn't want her to go through the same emotional stress you endured so… in a moment of temporary insanity, you hatched a plan to have Bill rescued. Then you called around and got hold of Star Fox, learning that they were still alive. You called the McClouds. Krystal and I enlisted Asper and the lot of us went right away, acting on emotional impulse."

A pause… Miyu rubbed the bottom of her chin for a moment then shook her head. "You know why that won't fly? Because only _men_ can blame stupidity on hormones. The truth is, I knew right away that Star Fox could help. When I arrived on GreatFox, you guys were convinced that a lizard with female prisoners could successfully infiltrate the core base. I went along for the ride because of one simple fact: I didn't want to be left out on all the action."

"Did you put that in your report?"

"Word for word," said Miyu with a proud grin.

"I'd hate to see you demoted to Lieutenant at the end of your career," said Fara with a grin. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go and wake up my boyfriend."

"He's still asleep?"

A sly grin spread across the fennec's muzzle. "I wore him out last night." She winked, playfully stuck her tongue out then left the sickbay in a hurry before Miyu could ask any questions or get in any snarky comments. Fara hurried down the hall, glanced over her shoulder then took the first intersection she came to. Her pace slowed and she continued the rest of the way through the corridors at a leisurely pace. She passed several construction workers, getting looks from more than a few because of her formfitting outfit and physical figure. Knowing she had eyes on her, she even sashayed her hips for added effect.

Fara stepped into the galley and picked up a plastic tray. She covered it with breakfast food items then made her way back to Marcus' quarters. The door slid open and she crossed the living room and into his personal den. Phoenix settled on the bed and placed the tray adjacent to the slumbering Marcus. She waved her paw, causing the aroma of the food to be waft in his direction.

Seeing his nose twitch caused her to grin brightly. She picked up one of the small plates and held it directly in front of his nose. Again his nose twitched. She became giddy, finding his natural reactions to be somewhere between 'cute' and 'adorable'. This was the effeminate side she typically hid from others but letting it out every so often felt good inside.

She pondered crawling beneath the blankets and waking him up with a devious notion but decided to try such things in the near future instead. Her attention returned to his facial expressions. His nose continued to dance back and forth and now his eyes were fluttering. She wondered if the smell of food was causing him to dream about eating.

His paw reached out and patted the empty pillow besides his head. Fara reached for his paw and placed hers atop of his to let him know she was right besides him. "Good morning, sunshine."

He murred softly and opened his eyes. She was showered, groomed and dressed in a fetching outfit. His eyes lowered then lifted and he smiled. He replied in a voice deeper than his usual tone. "Hey you… G'mornin'."

Twin green eyes dropped to the covers, seeing a bit of tentage in the fabric lay. She licked her lips just to tease then placed the tray upon his chest. "You happy to see me or something?"

He blushed beneath his fur. "I… it's a morning reaction thing. But yes, I am." He sat up a bit more and stretched, reaching for a fork between the multiple small plates. "And starving. I'm not usually hungry first thing in the morning… how did you know to bring me breakfast in bed? Are you a _mind reader_ or something?" He grinned.

"I'm a woman, I know things." She grinned back. She cleared her mind so that he wouldn't know she'd spent the last few minutes teasing his senses with the smell of food before waking him up. It was a devious tactic and it paid off. However, she removed the tray from his belly and placed it on the sheets adjacent to him. "Get up and go pee, first. That way you can come back to bed and _enjoy_ your meal."

"How did you know I had to…?" He paused and looked her over. He offered a faux gasp. "You _are_ a mind reader!" Marcus swung his legs out over the bed and stood up only to realize he wasn't wearing boxer shorts like usual… he was wearing what they wore to bed last night.

Fara whistled flirtatiously. "Well, well… Breakfast may just have to wait!" She continued to tease and whistle at him all the way to the bathroom. Once he shut the door she turned her attention back to the plates of food, arranging them on the tray so that they were neater. To her it was the little things in a relationship that made everything special. She mixed two cups of fruit together just the way she knew he liked it then stacked the cups one inside the other. She organized the small plates of food the way she'd seen him do so several times in the past.

Marcus reemerged from the bathroom and slinked back into the covers. He saw what she'd done and grinned with appreciation. "I hope I can make you feel as special as you make _me_ feel, Fara." He picked the fork back up and pulled the tray into his lap. "Last night was fantastic."

She jokingly fanned herself. "No, last night was '_wow_'. Where in the heck did that come from? I've _never_ seen that side of you." Before he could reply, she added, "Although I hope I see it more often."

He chuckled in spite of himself, still nervous but no longer blushing. "I was feeding off of everything that ran through your mind. I guess you could say I was on auto pilot… Instincts and all that, like everyone used to tell me. I get all wound-up around you and… last night… I was pretty riled, angel."

Fara smiled at the unusual nickname. "You're sweet. I'm glad you're capable of being both gentle _and_ fiery. That really needs to start happening more often, I'm not kidding." She grinned then stood up from the bed. "I'm definitely impressed, Marcus McCloud. I don't know where you learned half of that stuff but… I'm not complaining." She then changed the subject. "I've got to meet with Roland, Pepper and Grey. General city, you know? They need an official debriefing. Theodore and Vivian are out – don't ask, hon, they didn't leave a note. Miyu is roaming around but she's _really_ hurting this morning. She probably won't make very good company right now. I'll be back in a few hours at most."

"I guess I should stick around and continue to play dead."

Fara clapped her paws together in a joking fashion and announced, "A man who is trainable! Well if it isn't my lucky day!" She came around to the other side of the bed and leaned over, kissing him the way lovers do. With a pat to his cheek, she turned about and headed for the bedroom door. "Go do some boy things, I'll go do some girl things and later this afternoon, we'll get together and snuggle up to a pay-per-view movie or something." She flitted her tail at him in a seductive sort of way then left the bedroom.

"Damn what a woman," he whispered before turning to his food. "I need to marry that girl as soon as possible."

* * *

**Wolf O'Donnell and Panther Caruso listened intently** to Bliss' girlfriend, Doctor Carey Granton. "It's about two thousand pounds," she explained of the egg-shaped device she created for Kursed. "Okay, stay with me now… A one megaton warhead is about a thousand pounds and packs an insane punch. This is a fusion bomb _not_ a _fission_ bomb; it's designed to be a great deal _cleaner_. Good for blasting and lacking in both instant and residual radiation. It's designed for a different application than the far-smaller dirty bomb used on Corneria last year."

Panther folded his arms. "Dirty indeed, Venom has no honor to have used such a weapon in such a way."

"I agree," said Carey. She continued with her explanation. "At one megaton, the fireball produces heat of _fifty million_ degrees. The blast is so enormous that ten seconds after detonation the fireball is one mile in size and has cooled to about eleven million degrees. Four miles out, your eardrums will burst instantly; houses and most buildings will implode then be swept clean by blast winds in excess of one hundred eighty miles an hour. The flash, alone, will last about twenty to twenty-five seconds and people ten miles away will receive second-degree burns. Even at ten miles away, the force is _still_ enough to cause glass slivers to cut through skin tissue; anyone by a window may become permanently blind and wind up shredded from the debris. In ten minutes time, the mushroom cloud will be sixteen miles high and thirty miles across."

"One megaton does all that, huh?" mused Wolf, cradling his chin pensively, thinking about the implications.

Carey nodded. "The thing is, _her_ bomb is _two megatons_. That's two million pounds of TNT in blasting power alone. She claimed she's not using it on people or even to create a display of power. Instead, she wants to use it underground to unearth something. I don't know what her intentions are."

Bliss frowned and lowered her gaze to the floor. "Originally, she thought about using it to kick-start a gravity bomb so she could try returning to her home universe. Suddenly she says she has a better idea involving the restoration of her race at the expense of Corneria and Katina. She wants to wipe out both planets and put her colonies there. I did the math… we're talking _eighty percent_ of Lylat's population. Talk about _bad for business_, there won't be any clientele. Then again, it raises the value of a Credit but not before ending the current economy."

"How does she plan on wiping out two planets?" asked Wolf.

Panther nodded in agreement. "This bomb won't take out _that much_ and after reading about the old Capital City of Corneria, one would doubt she'd want to erect a colony there, no matter _how_ clean this new bomb is expected to be."

Wolf cut his gaze over at Panther as if to silently tell him to shut up. Much to Bliss' surprise the glare worked. O'Donnell looked back at Doctor Granton and arched his brows as if to ask, '…_Well?_'

Carey cleared her throat. "Terra-forming. It's a legitimate way to erase _everything_ if she gets her paws on Andross' old research. We're talking the _old_ stuff from trial-and-error testing _before_ his Venom Restoration Device was perfect… It could even be something _worse_ than Andross' old trial-and-error devices."

Panther quirked his brows. "Worse?"

Bliss nodded matter-of-factly, taking over for her significant other. "She claims she found one on Sauria that was used to colonize every planet in this system except for Venom. Carbon dating puts Venom and Sauria as the two oldest planets to have an atmosphere. So much for _The Goddess_ creating life; from what she's learned, the Krazoa crafted every inch of Lylat because they wanted to leave _their_ planet. It kind of puts a dampener on the idea of faith and religion, huh?"

Caruso nodded slowly. "But who invented the Krazoa?"

"That _is_ the remaining question, isn't it," murmured Carey. She cleared her throat a second time and said, "Mister Caruso, you've dated Kursed once. It happened before she adopted that nickname. I was hoping you could get through to her. She wants to repopulate her race. Go help her repopulate it in a way that doesn't involve wiping out most of Lylat's population. Perhaps, if you could romance this woman, her natural maternal instincts would kick in and she would change her desire to wipe out approximately twenty billion sentient beings."

He grinned with a sparkle of mirth in his eye. "Nothing would make me happier," he replied in first-person wording much to the surprise of Bliss and Wolf. "Thank you both for calling me here. I'll head to Sauria and see what I can learn _before_ I approach her face to face." He eased off the table and nodded to Wolf. "You going to be able to swing the job without me, Boss?"

The elder O'Donnell nodded. "Yeah, now that I've got my daughter here. I'll keep flying for Bowman although I can't understand why he didn't call us when those chicks rescued Bill Grey. The stupid little monkey even told me to keep our employment status '_off the books_.' It sounds to me like he wants to keep us a secret for the time being. Then again, who am I to complain? He's paying us to sit around and _not_ get involved."

Bliss smirked at Panther. "Expect to get used."

He replied with a dazzling smile. "It is what Panther does best, young lady." He bowed to Carey and Bliss then nodded respectfully to Wolf. Just like that, Panther Caruso walked out of the office with a confident stride.

Carey shook her head. "That guy is going to get chewed up and spit out by Kursed. She's no joke."

Wolf scoffed. "It's a shame we won't get to see his heartbreak televised." He turned back to his daughter and leaned back in his chair. "So how do we go about getting this ore back from Dash? You said you saw the hiding spot?"

"Yes, it's where Kursed keeps her regeneration chamber. I'm not clear on all the semantics, daddy… she used to need tissue restoration stuff done… for the first X-amount of months she had to sit in that thing for X-amount of hours per day… whatever. It's complicated. Anyhow, it's very low key and practically unguarded."

The lupine's maw contorted into a devious looking grin. "Perfect. We'll nab it, replace it with some crappy metal ore and hide the good stuff until we can sell it to Corneria. They'll buy every square foot of it just to keep the crap from being used against them again. After all, who _doesn't_ want metal that can cause water to simmer on contact? We'll retire and receive planetary praise. So far as I'm concerned _that _is good for business." He pat his lap. "You did good, Bliss."

She settled onto her father's right knee like she used to do as a little girl. "I learned from the best, Daddy." She glanced over at Carey, took a deep breath then said, "But I have bad news about Crimmy."

"Oh yeah?"

She nodded slowly. "He's gone through a _lot_ of crap in the Academy. I talked to him this morning. It sounds to me like he's trying to maintain his status as the family rebel. This even surprised me, lemmie tell ya'…"

* * *

**Jack Pepper glanced at his watch** and nodded to Crimson O'Donnell. "No rush. I have an appointment here, shortly. Bill Grey got in late last night. We spoke about your conduct the night he was abducted. He said you may have been drunk but despite your inebriate status, you managed to help him create a distraction that allowed for his new fiancé to escape danger. He said he used to hate you because of your father… but he said you brazenly threw yourself into danger for him. You really impressed him."

"The military has really treated me well over the last few days," said Crimson. "You offered to believe in my innocence first before all the facts were established. I'm watching how you guys treat my girlfriend who has decided to schedule her delayed entry program. She goes into boot camp the day she graduates from the Academy. I always thought you military guys were a bunch of crap but I was wrong."

"Why don't you consider it?"

"I'm thinking about it, now. The only hang up is… I'm not so sure it's for me," he reasoned.

Jack Pepper smiled. "You're a natural born leader – I've seen your flying records. You lead classmates on assignments and work with them when they struggle. I understand your father wants to make your sister head of Star Wolf one day. I understand you had a great amount of respect for your best friend as the leader of Star Fox and, please accept my deepest sympathies for that transgression." Pepper shifted back to his prior topic without delay. "Why don't _you_ lead a squadron one day, Crimson?"

"Huh? Transgression…?" He blinked then jumped onto Jack's last question. "Military wing commander… is that your idea of a job for an O'Donnell?"

"Blood and a surname don't make a man," Jack told the boy. "A man makes a name for himself with the sweat of his brow and a little perseverance. You still have three years left before you need to make a decision. Where is Star Fox going to be in three years? The pages of a textbook. Where is Star Wolf going to be in three years? The pages of a tabloid magazine. They won't wait up for you – in fact, they haven't. My suggestion is that you make your name in the military on your _own_ merits by having good pilots fly for _you_. If you don't like it, don't re-sign your military contract after four years. Just walk away with your pride and your experience. You can go to any mercenary team or start one of your own. Your options are endless. But this war could turn serious and our military has some of the best hardware available on _any_ market. We need good pilots to fly those machines."

Crimson tilted his head slowly to the left. "Its funny that you're trying to sell me on joining the military, General Pepper."

"Is it?"

The young O'Donnell nodded with a slight grin. "I was just telling my sister, this morning, that I would _love_ to see my father's face the day I tell him I'm going to join the Cornerian Air Guard. I'd enlist just to see the expression on his face. Then, when all is said and done, I'll be a war hero and he'll still be hated by just about everyone. Then we'll see who is laughing at whose reputation."

Jack nodded slowly. "What if I told you that we have an acceleration program for gifted and talented pilots?" He paused for effect then said, "We base it on individualized testing scores and you've already been deemed as a qualifying candidate. How would a _General_ know? Well, let's see… I've looked at your file because I wanted personal answers regarding _my_ superior… and… of course… the test you took last month," he suddenly asked, "do you remember it? Three hour test with a one hour flying segment?"

"Yeah, I heard they call it the _bell curve_ test because teachers typically round up due to it being a…"

Pepper lifted his paw. "You scored high on it." He saw Crimson's eyes widen ever so slightly. "Take your late friend Marcus' score, add your sister's score… and multiply by two-and-a-half. No, I'm _not_ kidding. You set a school record. If you join our acceleration program, we could have you in a military cockpit at the end of your _second_ year. You would finish your third and forth year education via your "A" school and "B" school as a military pilot. Are you ready to be more than just a cadet?"

Crimson was floored. "I… well… I'm kinda' shocked, here. I didn't think a General would be the one making offers, here."

"Oh it's not official, Crimson. At least not until tomorrow when you receive a pamphlet in the dormitory mailbox, requesting you to have an interview with some young Lieutenant who has polished shoes and a wrinkle-free shirt." Jack opened his uniform jacket so that O'Donnell could see a wrinkle in his dress shirt. "See? Even high-ranking officers aren't _always_ perfect. I missed a spot while ironing this morning. It happens. You need to change your preconceived notions of the military, young man. You don't have to say _yes_ to me, even though I can tell you want to by the look in your eyes."

"So I'd be flying sorties in only one more year? If I work my tail off I could command my own squadron?"

Pepper nodded. "That's the idea. You know… you'd be continuing a tradition."

"What's that?"

"Fox McCloud's best friend decided to go into the military, even though Fox asked his friend to go mercenary. Decades later, Fox McCloud's best friend is now the highest-ranking General of the fleet. It was intended to be a _temporary_ position, mind you, but look at him… a year later he's _still_ The Man."

"Bill Grey was Fox McCloud's best friend in school? _And_ he was asked to join Star Fox?"

"Yes on both accounts; Grey politely declined the mercenary life," said Jack. A knock at the door caused his floppy ears to rise slightly. "Come in!" The door opened and he smiled brightly. "Ah, you're early! Welcome back to Corneria, Miss Phoenix."

Crimson turned around in his swivel chair. "Fara!"

"Red!" Fara approached the younger pilot and the two hugged one another. "What in the world are you doing in the principal's office?"

Jack laughed heartily at the vixen's joke and lifted a paw. "Mister O'Donnell is here because his actions attracted the attention of the top brass. He took a bullet for Bill Grey and his diversion allowed for Miss Fay Spaniel to reach safety the night of the abduction. We were just discussing his future… possibly with the military."

"You would know," said Crimson to Fara, "Is military piloting worth it?"

"Red, it's different than _real life_, despite what most may think." She settled into a chair adjacent to his, across from Jack Pepper. "I was always treated as the rich bachelorette of a wealthy travel magnate. But when I put on my military uniform, I was treated the same as every other pilot. I was given the opportunity to shine and no one had any preconceived notions. I was able to work on my own merits and I wasn't judged. It's the only time I was free of the shadow cast over me by Phoenix Enterprises."

"I have a shadow, too," he said. "My father is a real piece of work. So everyone is _even_ in the military, huh?"

Phoenix grinned and patted his wrist. "I once mouthed off to a superior because I was having a bad day… I was a teenager, after all. Well, I'll make the long story into a short one… This billionaire rich girl, soon-to-be the youngest Chief test pilot in military history… found herself with a spade on a rainy day, digging holes in the mud for _five hours_. Yeah, it sucked… but the pretty little rich girl dug some of the best damn holes that mud has ever seen. Why? Because I was the same as everyone else… no pedestal, no shadow, no drama. I was the recipient of my own merits and demerits." Her grin broadened then she said, "Oh, and the military is very particular about weapon storage and inventory handling. They even make personnel sign out their gear then sign it back in when they're done. Uniformity – everyone has to stow equipment the same way."

Red's eyes widened. "Really! God that would be like a dream come true!" He cut his gaze over at Pepper and said, "I'm a little bit obsessive compulsive about that stuff."

Jack reached across the desk and shook hands with the hybrid fox-wolf. "Well, son. My appointment is here, as you can see. I didn't realize you two knew one another. But I'll have to speak with her alone. In a few minutes, I'll have Bill Grey and another General showing up. Thanks for coming by to talk. So far as I'm concerned, the case is closed on that file folder."

O'Donnell took his paw and nodded. "Fara and I flew together. She's a good teacher." He stood up and grinned at the fennec. "Tell Marcus I said hey."

"Shh," she replied, waving in a semi-frantic way at him. "No one is supposed to know he's still alive. You've got to keep that to yourself." She quickly cut her eyes to Pepper and added, "That goes for _you, too_."

Red cocked his head. He lifted both of his paws defensively and in a whisper, he simply said, "Ooohh," coming to the realization as to why Pepper kept referring to Marcus as his 'late best friend', earlier. The academy pilot backed out from between the two chairs then left the room.

Once the door clicked shut, Jack turned to Fara. "Is this true? _All_ of team Star Fox is alive and well?"

"They're right here on this planet," said Fara. "Bill knows, too. You thought Krystal McCloud and I brought him home on Miyu's back? Not quite. The disinformation is imperative for three reasons. One, if Dash and Venom think a major threat has been eliminated he won't be in a hurry to strike again. Two, the GreatFox flying fortress is sitting on Corneria at Space Dynamics. We don't want Venom to target Corneria again. Rumor has it they targeted Corneria to try and assassinate Marcus McCloud while he was at the hospital (_Chapter 15, Next Generation_). He doesn't want to take that chance again. He doesn't want innocent Cornerians to die because someone was gunning for him. Finally, with the element of surprise, Star Fox can create an effective strategy against Dash Bowman when we're ready to make our next move."

Pepper nodded and leaned back in his chair, relaxing again. "I'm relieved. I don't know what more to say than… I'm eternally grateful the McCloud family members are still alive." Another knock came to the doors. He stood up and cleared his throat. "That must be Roland and Grey now. Very good. Please pull up a third chair so we can all sit down together and figure out what it is you know about this core base." He then lifted his voice, calling out to the doors to his office. "Come in!"

* * *

**Dash Bowman stood over the hybrid lizard**'s spot on the sickbay table. "Comfortable?"

Asper tightened his jaw, wondering what Dash meant by his question. Sarnoff shook his head. "No." He sat up on the table and rubbed the side of his head. "The Cornerian sank her teeth into my throat then I was electrocuted _twice_."

"Yes, I saw that." Bowman frowned. "I'm sorry I didn't send help. I was low on men at the time and directed them to set up an ambush. The Cornerian infiltrators managed to breech the line and escape with General Bill Grey."

With a convincing glare, Asper said, "You had a _General_ in your grasp and _my_ prisoners rescued him?" He gnashed his teeth together angrily the way he'd seen full-blooded lizards do in the past. "I'll make this right, my liege."

"Calm down," said Dash with a shake of his head. "Things have changed since you were knocked out. What did you say your name was, again? Asper?"

"Yes, my liege. What has changed, Emperor?"

"For starters, I am no longer the Emperor of Venom. I've stepped down and tomorrow I'll arrange a physical confrontation to vie for the right to that power. If we both survive the combat, I'll give the population the right to vote for their leader. For now, the title of Emperor is quite unnecessary."

"Very well," said Sarnoff. He glanced behind himself at his exposed wings. "I suppose you now know my secret."

Bowman nodded uncaringly. "Hide them if you wish. It matters not to _me_. I still have need of your services. You've captured these women once more. I may need you to try and do it again."

"When do I leave?"

"When your throat heals up a little better," replied the small-statured ape. "How did you catch the feline and the two vixens the first time?"

Asper cleared his throat then winced at the sharp pain from his neck wound. He sat the rest of the way up on the sickbay bed. "I waited for them to make camp. I struck while they were asleep and managed to subdue them without a fight. The large-eared fennec is tenacious. I made a near-fatal error by making it possible for her to bite my throat. Such an amateur mistake will _not_ happen a second time."

"It is of no concern," Dash replied. "What do you know of Naval Combat?"

"I'm a marine," returned Sarnoff.

Bowman offered a nod. "Had you not been electrocuted two times, you would have probably broken that vixen over your knee in due time. I need marines that fight as hard as you and that fennec. Every naval battle group has good marines on board. I'll need marines that fight like you do if we are to have any chance in surviving this war."

Finally Sarnoff felt like he was getting somewhere with Dash. "What naval battle group will you use to transport marines, my liege?"

"The largest one ever seen. They're under construction in a secret location but they're nearly complete."

Asper nodded twice then asked, "When would you like your marines ready? I can teach them if you like. How many?"

"You have time," said Bowman. "But you'll be teaching about ten thousand Sharpclaw lizards from Sauria; on the entire planet, they are the _only_ Sharpclaw people left. I want you to teach them patience and how to fight the way that you fight. But there's so much going on right now that I don't need for youto rush. I'm dispatching Venom troops down to the surface of Sauria in large numbers; I'm also hunting for the vixens that escaped… I am in the middle of making some major changes on Venom alongside the woman who is working with me, Kursed. I'm doing many things all at once. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"Very well. Who is the woman, Kursed?"

Dash grinned inwardly. "You've not met her? That's probably for the best. She's a little on the demanding side. She's also telepathic so it's difficult to get a word in edgewise when you're in her presence. She's the most impressive fighter I've ever met. You cannot possibly hope to defeat her in combat because she utilizes her telepathy to counter your every move. She also has recently acquired some measure of telekinesis so she's able to stop weapons fire and hurl it back at you. She's able to deflect directed energy rounds. The woman can throw you through a wall, levitate herself over water and even shield herself using debris and litter on a battlefield. She's my most impressive and ambitious creation. I have begun to understand what my grandfather saw in his work… the creation of life is one thing but to have something so successful…" He paused then beamed proudly. "She's my first and only bioweapon. She's all Venom will ever need. Her only true enemy is Marcus McCloud because he's already killed her once. However, he's rumored to be dead. Even so, she's now a hundred times above his ability."

"Very good, my liege." Asper slid off the sickbay table and removed one of the suction cups on his chest. He reached for a Venom uniform shirt hanging from a nearby hook. On the seat beneath was a chest strap harness to keep his wings in position. He blinked at it then looked up at Dash then back at the harness. "Is this for me?"

"It is if you want it."

Sarnoff nodded slowly. "I appreciate it. I know that some lizards will be put off by the thought of me being half Cornerian. Thank you for looking out for my interests." He slipped on the shirt and eased his wings through holes cut in the back of the fabric designed for his rare appendages. He put on the gear harness and placed a blaster into the holster on the front. He reached behind himself and fixed each wing to the harness adaptors, which kept them flat to his back on the outside of his shirt. He then reached for an officer's dress jacket and pulled it on. His eyes lowered to the rank insignia on the collar and his eyes widened. "Colonel?"

"I know they escaped but you still did your best to bring them in on top of fighting to keep them here. Now that we've seen what they're capable of we have information we can show to Kursed who will be better prepared to fight them personally in the near future. You've earned the promotion from whatever you were before. Your papers were lost because the office of Andrew Oikonny is defunct at this time."

"I appreciate the increase. I'll fill out the paperwork and set up a digital banking account to tie my pay through. I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve you, Mister Bowman." This was it. Asper was in and he was close to the enemy. He felt that they trusted him. After all, he was given a rank of command status. He'd done everything Fara had instructed. He couldn't help but be proud of himself.

* * *

_Seven hours later…_

**Krystal McCloud lifted a paw, placing her palm on Fox's chest.** "Wait."

"What's going on?" He narrowed his eyes, squinting in the darkness.

"There are guards. I'm not sure how they arrived here unless there's a second entrance to this temple. Perhaps there's a tunnel beneath the bedrock or some sort of antechamber that connects to another above ground temple." She closed her eyes for a moment then shook her head slowly. "Reptiles."

Fox grinned and unholstered a blaster. "Come on, Sharpclaw right? Those guys were practically wiped out against the Aparoids when we were in our prime. The survivors of that tribe were children when it happened. They'll be a piece of cake; Shawpclaws can't stand up against modern weaponry."

"No, Fox… these lizards are _very_ intelligent and organized. They're also numerous. We're underground so I can't utilize my staff's quake attack without possibly triggering a cave-in. We'll need _help_ on this one."

McCloud turned to his wife and frowned. In reply, she smiled with gleaming eyes. Fox looked away and folded his arms. It was though they were having an entire conversation with their facial expressions. Finally, Fox said, "I really think it's _not_ a good idea."

"Love, he's matured a great deal since he last aided you. He'll be much more of a help than a hindrance." She watched him for a moment but he kept his back to her. Krystal rolled her eyes. "Fox, we're married – let's find a way to compromise."

"We either ask him to help us or we avoid him. There's no middle ground, so _how_ do you propose we compromise?" He turned to his wife and gritted his teeth in defeat. She smiled brightly. Finally, Fox ran his paws up through the tousled vanilla streak of headfur. He cut his eyes back at her and saw that she was absolutely beaming at him. McCloud fidgeted. "…Damn." His head lowered in defeat. In a low tone, he sighed then murmured, "Summon him, already."

"He was in two of my recent flashbacks, Fox. Perhaps it's a sign; I'm _supposed_ to remember him. Besides, he's so cute and playful."

"Hon," he trailed off, lifting his paw. "Just… do it already. But remember we've all but _lost_ our stealth advantage by having him around."

"Don't be such a spoilsport," she replied. Krystal withdrew the staff from the holster on her back and held it above her head. The tip grazed against the granite ceiling. She closed her eyes and recalled one of her school-hood lessons… how to telepathically call out to a target. Silence.

A moment passed and Krystal's eyes opened. Her facial expression was marred with confusion. "That's odd…"

"What's wrong? Can't you reach him?"

"I _did_ reach him," she told him with a firm nod. "He's already _here_. He's …he's very near."

McCloud blinked twice. "He _is_?" The aging pilot unfolded his arms and tilted his head. He sniffed at the area then shrugged. "Where?"

"He's come to investigate a disturbance with aid from other Earthwalkers but… currently, he's the only one here. There was a recent battle and his forces fell back but I sense he was cut off from them somehow. I wonder why I couldn't sense him until now. He's actually _closer_ than the Venom guards."

Fox holstered his blaster. "Like… how close? He's not going to just show up and pounce me all of a sudden, is he?" He looked somewhat nervous, looking around the area and sniffing again. "He's too big for that crap, now. Warn me, please. I really don't need that happening tonight."

She lifted a paw, gesturing her husband to silence. "I'm trying to lead him to us. He's remarkably close. I… I'm sorry I didn't even sense him until now… I barely recognize half the minds around me now that I've lost so many of my memories. I must have glanced over his thought patterns."

"How far are the Venom soldiers?"

"They're on the move. I think they're doing patrol sweeps. The Venom lizards are getting further away from us and I sense no hostilities from them."

Fox nodded. "Once we find the wondering goofball, we should set up camp for the night. We're still in an area with good ventilation and with Venom patrols moving further away… this area is probably going to be safe for the remainder of the evening."

Krystal nodded then began concentrating again. She used her mind to send out a telepathic beacon to the target mind in an adjacent hallway. She walked with slow footfalls, reaching out with her mind. Her adrenaline spiked in harmony to the sudden surge of her target mind. "Fox, follow me!" Krystal increased her pace until she was at a brisk jog.

A granite wall began to slide to the left on ancient tracks. Fox and Krystal passed into the next part of the hallway. At the end of the dimly illuminated corridor King Tricky was locked in physical combat against two robotic attack sentries. Venom Imperial logos, painted on the side of each, glistened in the glow of their blaster attacks. The hovering bots both moved to flanking position.

Fox un-holstered his blaster and shot at the one moving to the dinosaur's left. Krystal withdrew her staff. The ovular tip opened up and she fired two blaster shots. Both globs of ruby-colored plasma rounds struck the hull of the right sentry.

Tricky reared up onto his hind legs and swatted at the droid on the left with a thunderous battle cry that shocked both vulpine pilots. The left-side robot flew out of control and struck the nearest wall so hard it shattered into dozens of pieces.

The other sentry came about and opened fire on Fox and Krystal. She shifted her staff, engaging the shield bubble. Energy rounds struck the blue field. One round was deflected up into the ceiling, the other shot hit the shield dead on and was dissolved without incident. Krystal placed a paw on Fox as if to gesture that she would take care of the situation.

Her other paw eased the tip of the staff back upwards and a gush of frigid air spewed out, capturing the hovering robot in a gray miasma. The frosty cloud overpowered its inner mechanical workings. The floating droid dropped altitude. It attempted to compensate but with each of its systems shutting down, it finally hit the ground. The unit rolled several times until Krystal brought her footpaw down upon it, triumphantly. Finally, she lifted her staff then brought it down upon the mechanical contraption, splitting it into multiple frozen chunks.

Tricky looked up at Fox and Krystal and beamed brightly. "Hey teammates!" He lifted his head so that they could see he was wearing the Star Fox pendant given to him by Fox several decades ago. The chain was newer and longer than the old one. To Fox's pleasant surprise, the King Earthwalker approached them one step at a time. He looked at Krystal then turned to Fox and grinned. "She kicked _way_ more tail than _you_ did just now, Fox. Why isn't _she_ the team leader?"

McCloud holstered his firearm and smirked. "You know what, Tricky? I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."

Unable to really shrug, he performed a quick little jaunty circle instead. "You just did!"

Fox opened his mouth but… he had nothing to say because the dinosaur was correct. It brought a giggle to Krystal's maw. She twirled the staff elegantly then returned it to the harness on her back. Meanwhile, Fox just stood there. His left ear flickered twice.

Krystal placed a paw beneath Tricky's large jaw, scratching gently against the reptile's scaley chin. The four-legged beast reacted like a pet, thumping the tip of his long, heavy tail on the ground. She knelt besides him and asked, "Just seeing you brings back so many _good_ memories I thought were gone. I really am pleased. And… Oh?" She tilted her head, able to read his thoughts more easily than she was used to as of late. His thoughts were on a female Earthwalker dinosaur. She craned her head a bit more then smiled softly. "Hope Sky is her name?"

His massive bone fan moved with the bobbing of his head, causing Krystal to lean back somewhat so as not to be clipped by it. Tricky announced, "She was the first Earthwalker to manage a peaceful friendship with a Cloudrunner survivor. That clan is beginning to swell again, especially after the last three years. Hope, which is what I call her, was given her middle name after rescuing two Cloudrunner children from injury during a blizzard in the Ice Horn region about a year ago. I was with Marcus at the time and she helped the Earthwalker relationships with the CloudRunners and the HighTop tribes in my absence. I'm considering her as the queen of my tribe."

More and more personal memories of Sauria flooded back into Krystal's mind. "Well, I'm certain that you'll have a splendid ceremony at the gates of the Walled City, Tricky."

His eyes lit up. "You're both invited but it won't be until next season." And, just like that, his eyes dimmed. "If we can find her. She has been missing for two days, which is very unlike her. She's always had a very predictable day-to-day schedule. I mean, she adapts real good to danger and when things come up but… she normally has a… well… a pattern to her life when things are calm. Which… they aren't."

Fox, having put the past joking commentary aside, lowered to one knee. "Why aren't things calm, right now?"

"The SharpClaw tribe survivors have chosen to leave Sauria. It's probably not a bad thing but it upsets the natural order of things here. She disappeared the day before they did. I don't think they went to the same place, though."

Before Fox could ask, Krystal looked up from Tricky and told her husband, "I sense a great deal from him. I can read him rather easily, Fox. Venom dropships came and the Sharpclaw tribe willingly boarded the transports. Possibly ten thousand people from all over Sauria… they were the smallest of all the tribes on a global level. The next day Hope Sky disappeared. This morning, Venom soldiers landed. There are approximately a dozen armed lizards in every known temple with about three to five dozen patrolling each outdoor region. It should be easy to avoid them as they're spread throughout the entire planet. However," she trailed off.

McCloud nodded in understanding. "Right. That explains why you sensed Venom lizards here in this temple, earlier. Let's find the safest, darkest corner and set up camp for the time being. We'll all need rest and food. I'll set up Theodore's perimeter motion trackers and Slippy's holographic virtual tent." He moved behind his wife and began rummaging through her backpack.

Several small metallic discs shuffled together like large playing cards in his right paw. Each one had a handmade logo that read, "Toad's Tracker" and had a low power display monitor on the bottom. Fox shut her backpack and began activating each flat disc. Five in total, each unit's monitor displayed the universal Cornerian digital symbol for wireless computer networking. The little screens flashed the symbol a few times then all read, "Five units networked together," in very small text. Fox thumbed the 'program ally' button located on each unit. A new message came across the screen. "Three allies detected. Choose accept or cancel."

Once Fox finished setting up the units, he shuffled them together again. "I say we go back in the last room – the one we just came from."

The stone-like wall slid on its tracks, letting them through. Tricky glanced up at the two upstanding pilots. They picked a dimly illuminated corner of the large room and set up camp. After half an hour to settle in, Tricky settled quietly into one section of the virtual 'tent' with a holographic wall that provided each with some measure of privacy. Once curled up and content, the King Earthwalker announced, "I don't snore; I hope you guys don't, either."

A wry grin spread over Krystal's maw. "Fox doesn't snore and I'm told I don't either. I'll set my alarm and wake you up around sunrise." She moved into the next section of the virtual tent and spread out a doublewide sleeping bag. She un-zippered the sides and wiggled into it. McCloud took his tactical vest off and put it on the floor then crawled in the roomy slumber bag besides her. The two mates snuggled up together, put in their earplug audio-buds and grew quiet. The tracking units, scattered around the room, had been designed to send an alarm sound to the earplugs but block out ambient noise in order to promote sleeping.

Krystal placed her paws upon Fox's cheeks and initiated a telepathic bond with him so that they could share private conversation time. Within half an hour, Tricky was breathing heavy and the cuddling couple was relaxed enough to rest.

* * *

_Early the next morning…_

**Her paws came together at the fingertips** and she walked in a slow circle around Asper Sarnoff. She could sense that he would do whatever it took, from training the Sharpclaw soldiers to meaningless gruntwork, in order to keep his position secure. For now, Kursed could tell that Asper would go out of his way to remain useful to Venom's betterment to appear loyal. She also knew that if he felt his usefulness was at an end, he would strike down Dash Bowman and leave, which made him that much more valuable to _her_.

Finally, the most important thing that Kursed sensed about Asper Sarnoff was that he somehow had a direct link to Marcus McCloud's son. She even sensed that Asper considered Marcus to be a somewhat naïve ally. She knew right away that Sarnoff was using Dash Bowman for information but she wanted to _use_ Asper in return without his knowledge; he would become her doubled edged sword and never even know it.

Kursed folded her paws and sat down in front of him. "So, you're the new guy. I sense you are in a stepfather position. Nothing official yet," she said with a nod to his bare left hand. "But you already see yourself in that light. A family man – very good. That means you're probably very responsible. I also sense that you know how to fight _very well_. We can use you to help with the Sharpclaw we're bringing in from Sauria. Teach them how to have a proper stance and teach them basic combat format."

"Thank you, Empress Kursed," he murmured politely. Despite being face to face with a telepath, he was impressively calm and confident. "And yes, we call him Jamie. He's quite young – about two years old. He's just starting to string together words. Potty training comes next but that's what colorful breakfast cereal is good for; if you make an interesting target, boys learn quicker."

She interlaced her fingers, folding her paws. "Mm, indeed – the joys of parenthood. I plan to become somewhat of a mother myself very soon but I'll get into that later. Mister Sarnoff, Venom can certainly use a man of your talents. But I don't want you to go and get the wrong idea of what _my_ plans are for Lylat. It isn't one of conquest."

"I beg your pardon?"

Knowing he was really a spy, she also wanted him to question his own mission to some extent. It was all part of the 'head game' she wanted to play. "You see, Colonel, I'm part of a doomed race from a dead world known as Cerinia. Venom was graciously left with a gift that no one is utilizing… The research of the late Doctor Andross Oikonny. I wish to clone myself and take a blood sample of a male Cerinian if one can be found. I have heard that Marcus McCloud may be dead but… it sounds like a rumor to me. If I can find him or anyone _related_ to him on his mother's side… I would want a sample of their blood. I would like to clone male and female Cerinian beings and become the _mother_ of my reborn people. To put it bluntly, I'm tired of being lonely. Surely you can understand that I have only the best intentions, here."

Asper was moved but wanted to remain 'in character' as a no-nonsense lizard soldier. "How does that affect me, Empress Kursed?"

"I'm in a position to become the leader of Venom. Despite political tensions with Corneria, I'm poised to reconstitute my race – mothering my newly reborn infant race is my only goal in life at this time. Please don't be concerned for Venom, though. I'll lead your people into a golden age in exchange for the reptiles aid in protecting my young colony until they can get on their feet. An alliance – that's how this will affect you, Colonel Sarnoff."

"You know my last name?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm a telepath. I know _everything_ about you. Your parents were rebellious: an avian and a reptile living together on Katina. You have a family, are engaged and do your best to father a hybrid boy named Jamie. That much you told me after all… What you failed to mention is that Jamie's mother and father were both mammals. Cornerians. Don't worry; your secret is safe with me. I won't tell the rest of Venom. I also sense that you know how to fight and you're here to do whatever must be done to help maintain your place amongst your peers, here on this core base. Am I missing anything?"

He shook his head. "You're quite an impressive telepath, Empress. I hope I can continue to help you in any way possible." Was he in the clear? She didn't mention the fact he was a Cornerian spy – he wondered if she'd missed that and was glad she didn't bring it up.

She placed a paw on his shoulder as if they were life-long buddies. "Oh you've already done quite nicely by bringing Krystal McCloud by. I didn't sense that she was alive and it was rather surprising to me. Sometimes, despite my abilities, I am prone to accidentally missing things. It's like seeing a page full of words but you accidentally glance over the most important line while skimming the contents. Thank you for bringing Krystal McCloud to my attention.

"I'm terribly sorry your prized catch got away but I understand you fought passionately against your escaping captives. Were it not for the energy gate bars, you most likely would have overpowered them. It's of no matter, Asper, my dear. Anyhow, the reason I'm here in your new private quarters is obvious. I simply wished to interview you." She lifted her paw and placed it gently against his cheek then smiled inwardly. This man was a wealth of information about Katina defenses, but he had something _else_. She saw an image of Violet Lombardi, the girl who secretly mothered the lovechild of Marcus McCloud. Kursed remembered the girl's face, having a flashback to the recent past. (_Chapter 14, New Generation_)

Having this man in her possession meant she now had direct access to the only two Cerinian males in existence – Marcus and young James McCloud. She even knew exactly where to find the latter just by touching Asper's cheek. "Now, if you'll excuse me… I have an appointment with Dash Bowman in less than an hour. Day after tomorrow I will be returning to Sauria to track down a _fairy tale_. Continue to serve Dash Bowman and you'll remain an important component of this well-oiled machine I like to call _New Venom_. Good day, Colonel Asper Sarnoff." Kursed grinned at him, extremely pleased with the man's contacts and connections. She lowered her paw from his face and she brought her paws together. They bowed to one another and she left the room. It was time to stage a combat against Dash Bowman in front of a camera. Dash was waiting for her, leaning up against the bulkhead. Kursed was all smiles, pleased by how this situation resembled some measure of 'fate'.

Out in the hallway she fell into step besides Bowmen. "Are you ready for our mock battle?"

"I'm ready but to be truly convincing, you'll have to provide realistic injury. I expect to bleed and I'm ready for it. I've taken pain medication in anticipation of this event."

"Very well. That will be easy," she replied. "I fancy your new colonel, Dash. I've scanned him. He'll be important in the near future so please do not let him go into combat against enemy forces. My plans require him to be alive."

"Understood." Bowman turned to the right at an intersection in almost perfect harmony with her footfalls. "I wanted you to scan him because I secretly doubted him. It was too perfect and too well timed. I thought he was a Cornerian spy."

The vixen was impressed with Bowman's instinct but she needed for the ape to _trust_ the Cornerian spy in order to have her plan properly executed. "No, dear. He's _very_ loyal to us and to Venom. Treat him like gold for me. He has a unique acquaintanceship with someone I intent to meet in the near future." She didn't tell Bowman it was a two-year-old Cerinian boy but omitting that small bit of information was in her benefit. "I think Asper is going to play an _important_ role in my near-future plans. More important than I initially realized. Ensure he remains alive, Dash."

"I see." Bowman folded his arms as they walked together. "How so?"

"Let's just call it a gut feeling," she replied with a grin. She glanced over at him and placed a soft palm against his arm. "It's time to lose gracefully to a woman, Dash Bowman."

"I know I could never defeat a telepath that could anticipate every attack," he said to her. "Why choreograph it? I'll simply do my best to attack you and when you honestly defeat me, Venom will see it. Like you said, they're not idiots. Faking things would only exacerbate the situation."

"Very good then, dearest Dash." She moved her paw to his back as they walked side-by-side. "Fight me with gusto and I'll simply render you unconscious. Tomorrow the vote will commence and afterwards I'll give a speech. By the end of the week, our military numbers will begin to swell. After the dust settles I'll return to Sauria to find this terra-forming machine."

"Perfect." Bowman kept his arms folded as the two continued towards the main hanger. A transport ship awaited their arrival. The image of Venom filled the entire force field window at the edge of the flight deck. "We should look into your gut instinct that Marcus McCloud may still be alive. He's your only true enemy as he's the only one capable of killing you. After all, he's already done it once."

"Perhaps you're right about his capabilities… but if you reach him before I do… do _not_ kill him. I may need him alive, Dash. I require something of him that regards my extinct race. I'll say it again, love…" She trailed off and turned to face him directly. "If you find him before I do, I need him _alive_. Do we have an understanding?"

He frowned with a slow nod. "I understand. If he's alive, keep him that way for now."

She smiled then leaned forward and kissed the side of his face. "After only the first day I can already tell that you'll serve me better than anyone else. You're truly my most prized possession, Dash. You're my vice president, my sidekick, and my other half. With my help, you'll make an excellent military leader. Together, we'll rule Venom and the rest of Lylat. We make a very good team." She smiled at him but inside she was grinning deviously. She had him right where she wanted him along with the rest of Venom. Soon, Lylat would be hers.

* * *

A/N: _Okay, so this chapter kinda' lives up to its title. Planning Period. Other than two attack sentries, there was no real action in this chapter. I had to set the stage for things to come. I had to get a few things out of the way with Bliss, Carey, Wolf O'Donnell, Crimson, Asper, Miyu and Jack Pepper. We won't be seeing those characters for a little while because it's time to focus on all the main plot points. Kursed, Fox and Krystal with Tricky, Marcus and Fara, a little bit of Dash, a little bit of Theodore and Vivian, and MAYBE a little bit of Bill and Fay time. I've already chosen what Bill is going to name his son. _

_ANYHOW, the NEXT CHAPTER will be a lot more FUN! _

_There will be MORE ACTION with Fox and Krystal when they cross paths with Venom soldiers. There will be more fun when Kursed crosses paths with Panther on the other end of Sauria. There will be more drama and intrigue when Kursed makes a decision on whether to reach out for Marcus to try and trick him (the way she lied to Asper in THIS chapter) to obtain his blood sample… OR… if she decides to go after Marcus' son instead. After scanning Asper, she now has Violet Lombardi's address. Maybe she'll be greedy and try to obtain BOTH Cerinian males. Who knows, maybe she can trick Marcus into helping her restart the Cerinian race by bribing him with personal time with his son by bringing the two together? _

_Finally, we'll begin to see just how different Kursed and Krystal will become. Krystal is only remembering her fondest, most tender and her most enjoyable memories. Kursed is starting to recall select memories of when she attacked her foes and manipulated her allies back in the other universe. Truly, we'll see an 'Evil Krystal' squaring off against a "Light Krystal" who will be even more pure of heart than ever. All of her memories of being hurt, humiliated, failing at something… all of that is gone. All she remembers is the good times. Happy marriage moments, childhood times, being a mother, helping people (like on her first visit to Sauria, for example), rescuing Lylat (from the Aparoids, for example)… Light Krystal will be unblemished and so pure-hearted that she'll be the exact opposite of Evil Krystal. With no past recollections of pain, suffering, hurt, rejection etc… there's nothing that Evil Krystal can use to telepathically hurt her. They'll become perfectly pitted to square off if I ever find a proper way to make that happen. It'll be like Charles Manson squaring off against Mother Theresa in a battle of the heart and wit. May the strongest mind win, huh?_

_See you soon! _


	16. Subterfuge

A/N: _I was thinking… let's see how Kursed can manipulate her way into getting everything she wants. She's hot, she looks young from being genetically restored, she lost some of her memories too… but she woke up with the strangely innate ability to control kinetic energy using her mind… is it temporary? Most likely. But whatever. It still makes her way more badass and evil and stuff. Does she have a weakness? Maybe. She lost the memories that truly corrupted her heart in the last story. Now she's not so… mean. Or is she? Maybe it's just a different kind of 'mean'. Let's explore this chick and see what makes her the YING. Then we'll see more Krystal, who is ONLY remembering the absolute most positive things in her life… and we'll start to understand what makes her the YANG. I wrote this chapter quick as crap because I sat down, not having a clue what I was going to write… then suddenly everything happened all at once. BAM. What can I say, I have an active imagination. Now if I could just have more motivation in life, I'd be all set, LOL! _

* * *

Chapter -16-  
"Subterfuge"

**Kursed reached down, **interlacing her fingers through white strands of headfur. She lifted Dash Bowman's head from the ground and displayed his emotionless face to spectators. She dropped his face back to the deck and stood up with a devious looking smile. It wasn't every day Venom got to see a small-statured vixen, looking to be in her early twenties, viciously defeat an ape in paw-to-paw combat. Her intense and sadistic attacks rendered Bowman into a state of unconscious in a matter of minutes.

With the mediocre-sized audience stunned to quiet, she toe-nudged Bowman's head then approached the Master of Ceremonies. Taking the reptile's microphone, Kursed turned to a group of cameras and announced, "I refuse to kill him. He's more useful to me alive than he is in a morgue. People of Venom, I've been gifted with more than some mere ability that allows me to see into the mind of my enemy. I would like to utilize my gifts for Venom as your leader but I cannot govern a body that does not wish to be governed. So I will put it to a vote as quickly as tomorrow. There will be three choices, since Andrew is frozen and unable to compete. Dash Bowman, myself and a write-in line." She lifted her paw and casually tossed errant locks of sapphire from the side of her face. "It's time to change for the better. A _stronger_ planet Venom will craft a stronger Lylat. Venom will no longer need to rely on Lylat or Corneria… it should be the _other way around_! Families shouldn't have to struggle to provide for itself – they should work as a team. They should survive on the sweat of their brow, not the ache in their back. Localized voting booths will be coming to all populated parts of the planet. Please do your part and make a decision. You're not voting for present, my friends. You're voting for your future."

She passed the microphone back to the greenish-blue scaled man then walked back out into the small arena and took Dash by his collar. She dragged him out of the area and into a locker room. With the spectators no longer able to see or hear, she splashed water in his face to awaken him. He groaned softly and sat up.

"Now we simply wait until tomorrow's vote. Your idea to stage a fight was brilliant," she told him with a smile. Kursed leaned in and kissed the side of his face. "You'll make an exceptional military leader. I'll handle the political jargon. For now, relax and let your body rest." She patted the side of his face and added, "I'm returning to Sauria tomorrow. If and when I win this election, I'll transmit my victory speech from my transporter while I'm on location. In fact, I may be leaving tonight – I'm running out of patience."

Dash rubbed his jaw line and sighed. He was in pain. He was also impressed. "It's not as though I'm incapable of running things while you're gone. Go on and head to Sauria now. No need to wait."

"Perhaps you're right." With her paw on his cheek, Kursed closed her eyes to meditate briefly. She drew back from him and approached the locker room mirror near his bench. "I'm glad you're not hiding anything from me. And while I'm still not completely satisfied with being brought back… you did a remarkable job. I look as though I'm practically nineteen in Cornerian revolutions."

"You didn't want to be brought back? This is the first time you've mentioned it." Bowman eased himself up to his feet and approached her. His eyes met hers in the reflection of the mirror. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm starting to realize that I have a higher purpose and perhaps that is the reason I was meant to live. Perhaps that is the reason I was resurrected. Now that I've lost a large portion of my memories, I've been able to see things in a different light. It's not cloudy anymore – I'm destined to bring Cerinia back. Dash, I look and feel as though I'm young again. I remember bearing a heavy burden; I recall that my pain was intense… I don't feel that way anymore. All that hurt and anger made me a foul person and I'm pleased it's gone. I don't remember what caused me to be so twisted but now I know I can live without regretting my life. Also, it feels good to have a purpose."

"I envy you," he replied. "You'll become the mother of your race. I'm middle aged but have no mate – I'll probably never experience fatherhood on any level. You have your life to live over and now you can pick any mate you could ever wish to have. Look at you, Kursed. You're absolutely gorgeous. You're my creation and perhaps you're the closest I'll ever come to having a daughter. I'm proud of you and your achievements. I'm proud of your beauty. And I'm glad you have replaced regret with purpose."

She turned to him and eyed the short ape. After a brief moment of quiet, she offered him a genuine smile. "That was the kindest thing I've heard… possibly ever. You're not such a bad person, Bowman. I appreciate that you believe in me and in my cause. And there is no need to be envious; whom would I mate? Fox McCloud?" She scoffed then said, "That man is married to my doppelganger."

He shrugged somewhat. "What about Marcus McCloud? You can clone yourself to make a female Cerinian but if you and Marcus had children, you would bare a nearly whole Cerinian male. He's half, you're whole… a son would be seventy-five percent pure Cerinian. It would give you someone to clone that is nearly perfect in a sense."

"I may not have birthed Marcus," she murmured with a slow shake of her head, "But I share the same DNA as his mother. Natural born children between us would be rather taboo, don't you think? Besides, I can take his blood sample and remove Cornerian markers. Furthermore, the children's children of the first colony would become nearly pure Cerinian. Although you've given me quite an idea… perhaps it would be possible to befriend Marcus McCloud since I've already sensed that he's alive… and if it is true… it's feasible that I could block certain things so that he would only sense _some_ of my intentions. Then, after manipulating him, I could have him help me. He would have no idea of my true plans. If he becomes aware of my desire to wipe out two planets, I would gauge his reactions. Worst come to worst, I simply take his blood and kill him. Perhaps I could even raise his son. Half-breed or not, a Cerinian child should have proper upbringing."

Bowman brought a paw to the side of his sore neck. "You have quite a grip, by the way." He sighed then frowned. "I tried befriending Marcus. Last year, I grew close to him. It didn't work out. Perhaps you'll have better luck with the boy than I. Your ship is ready, by the way. Travel safely – Sauria is quite a ways away."

"Indeed." She lifted a paw and touched the backside of his hand just beneath his chin. "Yes, I do have a strong grip. You made me this way." Her paw lifted, placing the velvet padding of her paw against his cheek. She lifted his head so that their eyes met. "You'd do well to remember that. I would like for you to be safe from any possible intruders, Dash. Your new Colonel, Asper Sarnoff… I want you to make him your _personal_ bodyguard. Trust your life to him." She smiled convincingly. "Like I told you before… I've scanned him. I feel that you would do well to trust your life to his capable hands." Kursed grinned inwardly then walked away from Dash. "I'm returning to Sauria. Keep my future empire safe and sound until my return."

For some reason, hearing her refer to Venom as _her_ 'empire' rubbed him the wrong way. However, he reminded himself that she was his creation and that they collectively _agreed _to put her into power. He dismissed the statement and told her, "Keep me posted on your progress." He frowned when she didn't reply. His eyes followed her to the doors at the end of the room until she was gone. He quietly reminded himself that he was the one ultimately in control. It was all he could do to aid his personal confidence.

* * *

_Shortly before sunrise in Thorntail Hollow_…

**Panther Caruso crossed his ankles**. He interlaced his fingers behind his head, stretched out on the top of his fighter. With his back up against the starboard vertical stabilizer he was now comfortable, propped up against the metallic panel that controlled yaw. His eyes lowered to the horizontal section that jutted out of the aft. It was still one of the most unique designs of any Wolfen fighter. With the elevator on the back of the platform and the aileron on the front, he had incredible control over lift, drag, the ability to change his pitch and roll _in atmospheric conditions_… he also had one of the _least_ nimble fighters ever designed. It cornered like a stubborn pig but was offset by fantastic offensive capabilities. However he admired his fighter; Panther fondly gazed down at the rose painted on the fuselage.

A sound caused the feline's ears to flicker. He lifted his soft eyes back to the night sky and watched as a shooting star passed over. Panther lifted a computerized gadget and thumbed the buttons. Using his ship's sensors, he scanned the distant red dot in the sky. A grin tugged at the corners of his muzzle. "Ah, my space flower… we meet again at last."

The red dot arced around and began to dim. He watched as it crossed in front of the glowing moon. His eyes dropped back to the monitor. "Panther deems such an occurrence as fate." He grew elated, seeing the incoming transport ship change its trajectory. A few moments passed.

Green laser dots crowded the area. They came together in the grassy field at the far end of the hollow. Several dots flitted over Panther creating a strange urge to swat at them. The transport ship began to descend. The grass and nearby trees swayed. The ship settled several meters from his own. He tucked the computerized unit into his jacket and undid the top button of his shirt. The feline cleaned up nicely with black denim pants, comfortable shoes and a fashionable shirt. His trendy looking jacket complimented his appearance. Between his ankles, he had a bouquet of fresh roses.

The transporter's running lights dimmed. Moments later, the rear door slid open and his eyes fell upon a shapely silhouette in the doorframe. He licked his left palm and ran it over his forehead, slicking back the short dark fur. She sauntered down the gangplank and approached his ship. Once she was in the moonlight where he could see her unbelievably youthful face he let out a low whistle. The two made eye contact and no one spoke.

Finally, after the brief silence, Panther pivoted on his backside and swung his legs over the side of the stabilizer. He still had the roses between his crossed ankles and swung his legs forward, tossing them to her. The vixen captured the bouquet in her arms with a shake of her head. "Same old Panther."

"Not necessarily," he purred with a smile. "You'll be the first and only to see my red roses and live to tell about it. Krystal, I don't know what to say… is this normal for your race? You look… I can't even begin to describe such beauty… You look _too_ young."

Kursed took a moment to scan his mind. She was surprised to learn that there were no crude thoughts or images. She saw Fichina in his head. It was burned out and the capital dome was in smoldering ruins… a fire that she apparently started before confronting Marcus McCloud. She saw that he rescued Vivian Hare and used her as bait to capture Marcus. Kursed learned that he was unattracted to Vivian because she looked too young for him and she discovered that he intended to strike down Marcus as revenge for the way he'd slain the blue vixen known as 'Kursed'. Then she realized that he spared Marcus out of personal honor. Her eyes lowered and she buried her nose into the roses. "I assure you, Mister Caruso, I am about to turn forty-nine in Cornerian revolutions. When Dash Bowman revived me, he had to do a great deal of cellular restoration. He did biogenetic engineering on me… and the end result was youth and vitality."

He slid off the back of his fighter. His jacket billowed up and he dropped to the grass gracefully. Caruso looked her over and offered a nod. "Some side effect, Krystal. One such as myself is quite impressed."

She kept her nose in the roses. "I've changed my name, Caruso. I would appreciate it if you respect my new name… Call me _Kursed_."

"But such a lovely woman, surely you don't consider yourself to be cursed in any way shape or form."

"For a man who abandoned me when Cornerians booed my name, you sure have a lot of gull to approach me again, even after so many years."

"I've done no such thing."

She blinked at him, hearing him speak in first person perspective and with such confidence in his tone. Kursed approached him, tucked the roses against the right side of her breast and reached out with her left paw. She touched his face gently cupping the side of his maw. Panther leaned into the touch unaware of the mental link she'd established.

After a brief scan of his memories, she brought her paw back to her muzzle in surprise. "I… Things didn't happen that way for me. In my universe, you betrayed me. You became a wildly popular ladies man because of your success against the Anglar attackers. Star Wolf became international and interplanetary heroes but the people booed me because I betrayed Fox McCloud and his trust in a dishonorable way by leaving him then orchestrating Wolf O'Donnell's theft of…"

Panther tilted his head in confusion.

She frowned. "I had Wolf team up with Fox. Using my plan, O'Donnell stole from Fox then rejoined Star Wolf's pilots… myself included. You and I were dating at the time. The four of us defeated the Anglar Empire and the team became heroes. However, Cornerians saw me in a bad light because I hurt Fox, betrayed his trust and helped his enemies to defeat the Anglars. They were so attached to Fox McCloud that they booed me, even though I gave my life to save their system from the Anglars… They resented me. And instead of protecting me, you turned to the thousands of female admirers that flocked to you. I left Lylat angry and bitter. You betrayed me after professing such notions as love and adoration."

He shook his head slowly. "I'm not sure what Panther Caruso was capable of in that universe… but in this one, you ran back to Fox. You betrayed _me_ but I pined for you – I wept at my loss. I was humbled. Years later, I tried dating but… My feelings for you are deeper now than they ever were. My lust turned to love. I've matured." Again, he spoke in first person with a relaxed, confident tone. His voice was very personal and tender. "But look at you… a woman with your looks would never want a middle-aged old cat like me. You're out of my league but please… keep the flowers. They're roses, obviously… and they're exquisitely beautiful… but without you to hold them they are simple plants."

She blinked incredulously. "Where was THIS Panther Caruso twenty-five years ago? When I needed a stable anchor, where were you then?" Kursed's eyes lowered to the roses again. She hated that he was sincere. She hated that this version of Panther never betrayed her and so she couldn't hold things against him. Her jaw tightened. "Let me find something I can use to fill up with water from the stream." She glanced over at the water running through Thorntail Hollow. "Unless you keep flower vases in your cockpit."

"I do not." He kept his tone personal and spoke with an eloquent mannerism. "But I will help you find something to put them in; what brings you to Sauria?"

She looked away and began heading back towards her ship. Panther followed. "Didn't Bliss tell you? I wish to become the mother of my race and the technology to accomplish such exists here on this planet. Where do _your_ loyalties lie, Mister Caruso?"

He followed her onto her transporter. "To you. That's why I'm here. I waited here because I wanted to see you again." He opened a storage panel and took out a metallic container used for holding gear. Panther overturned it and poured the contents back into the storage locker then offered the coffee-can sized half cylinder. "This will hold water. I'll go and get some from the stream. Use a laser scalpel from your emergency medical field kit to trim the stems. After that, I'll ask permission to accompany you. I'll smile nice and compliment you in hopes that you'll accept my offer by extending an invitation to join you by your side."

"Hurry back with the water," she replied in a soft voice. "After that, I'll fold my arms, look pensive and take my time to debate the pros and cons of your company. I'll deliberate until you look nervous then I'll probably agree, wondering if I'll regret it later on." She gently canted her head to the right, gesturing for him to go and get water.

Caurso replied with a genuine smile. "As witty as ever." He then turned from her and left the transporter ship. Minutes later he returned with the container. It had fresh stream water. "Only a year ago, this water was like a sponge (_Chapter 4, Next Generation_) and I would have had to cut it with a knife just to take it from the riverbed. Be glad you missed it – I remember your fondness for this lush, quiet jungle planet."

"It isn't _all_ jungle," she reminded him, placing the roses into the container. "Why are you suddenly being so sweet to me?"

"Krystal," he sighed. "My apology… _Kursed_… please understand that I'm sorry our relationship crashed and burned. Perhaps if I'd not been so arrogant, I would have had the honor to take your paw in marriage. Perhaps, if I'd been a better and more understanding man, I would be lucky enough to have you as the mother of my children. But I wasn't the catch I pretended to be. My ego was inflated because I was proud to have gotten 'the girl'. I let it go to my head."

She placed the bucket of flowers on the floor and folded her arms. "You're being the man I had lunch with at that small café while I was in the Cornerian Air Guard… No ego, just sensuality and humility. It's refreshing." She paused to drink in his thoughts and memories then she smiled slightly. "It's nice to know some things were the same in both our lives… in bother universes, I mean. I remember that day very well… you were absolutely radiating with sensuality and humility that day. These are things that women like in men. We want a man to be compassionate and understanding. We want a man to be mature and tender. These are all traits attributed with the female gender… in a sense we women are looking for another woman in a man's body. It's confusing, I know. Odd but… An hour ago, I could have cared less if you lived or died. Now I'm debating on letting you accompany me around Sauria."

"I would be honored to provide you with company." Again, he was surprisingly mature and pleasant. She wasn't used to this from him. Panther offered his paw to her, palm up. "You can change your mind at any time. I didn't hold you hostage before and I would never think to do so now." (_When Krystal leaves Panther for Fox in SF:Command_)

She glanced at his paw then looked away quickly. "I'm glad you didn't kill Marcus McCloud. If he is, indeed, still alive… I'll need to befriend him or possibly even seduce him if I must… I need his blood."

"If you want his blood, I'll retrieve it for you."

She glowered at him. "I don't need a coagulated sample from the deck plates of his dreadnought. I need him alive and I need the sample to be fresh. I'll do whatever it takes to get him close in order to take what I need. For the time being, I'll even keep him alive incase I need another sample for any reason."

"Understood," he murmured. "Apologies, please; take no offense over the order of simple wording."

She looked him over again. Panther looked in good health and shape for his age. She honestly couldn't remember his exact age but knew it was somewhere between forty-nine and fifty-nine. However, he resembled a college professor with his current clothing and looked no older than forty-one. She sensed that he was strong and confident. She sensed he would make a good bodyguard for the time being and finally the vixen nodded to him. "You may join me for now. If and when I have the chance to befriend Marcus McCloud, I'll require you to leave the immediate area. He'll sense your presence if you're too close. I want him to trust me."

"Why let him be so close, Krystal? He's supposedly the only one capable of resisting you in combat because of his telepathy. That would make him a dangerous foe to you, correct?"

Again, Kursed offered him a strange look. He was being far different than she remembered of him back when they were in their twenties. She sighed and told the feline, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It's the art of war, Mister Caruso. Refer to me as _Kursed_, please. Also, you have my permission to continue your occasional flirty advances. Don't expect me to fall for it but I'm not opposed to hearing it, so long as you keep it to a controlled minimum. I'm not your '_Space Flower_' and I won't have you referring to me as your 'dear', or your 'darling' or any other such nonsense. But… anything else is fair game. Let's go."

"Panther is content to have you as his friend first. Panther is also willing to earn your trust and anything else – friendship or otherwise."

She gently patted his arm and nodded. "Good start. We're headed up into the cold hills of the Ice Horn region. It's the quickest way to the Dark Ice mines that head down into the bowels of Sauria. I'll be using a special device to blast away at the upper mantle so I can find something buried in this planet."

Caruso nodded, remembering Bliss and Carey's explanation. "The terra-forming machine. You wish to turn Corneria and Katina into colonies. Panther knows this." He paused then licked his lips and reverted to a first person speech pattern. "I understand your mission."

"And you're willing to help me annihilate billions upon billions of people? Are you mad?"

"I was born and raised on Eladard. My deepest connection to Corneria is based on food. I told you… I'm loyal to you. I am also loyal to your cause."

She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps I can make use of your company. Certainly I'll need you to distract Marcus' mate when I lure him away from his teammates. Hmm… perhaps you could yet prove to be important to my plans." The two left the transporter and began walking together. "You used to be quite the assassin. You've not lost your touch have you? I wouldn't want Fara Phoenix to absolutely man-handle you, Mister Caruso."

"I've not lost my touch," he said with a hint of promise in his voice. "And I would keep her distracted for you." He thought about asking her to call him by his first name but, for now, he decided to wait on that. He wanted to earn her respect back first.

She could sense this from him and was impressed that he'd matured since she last saw him so long ago. He'd not _completely_ changed but he was far less of a womanizer than in his youth. They made their way up a ladder and into a cave. Further down into the cave, there was a stream with considerable current. A small boat was resting on the concrete cavern and together they pushed it into the water and boarded it quickly. As it carried them around the bend, the air began to grow colder.

After a while, the cavernous subterranean river came to an end. They pulled the small boat out of the water and came to the mouth of the Snow Horn region. Panther removed his jacket and placed it over Kursed's shoulders. She appeared reluctant at first but finally gave in. He lifted it by the collar and held it behind her so that she could slide her arms into the sleeves. She looked back at him for a moment in his plain dress shirt. She knew he would be cold but he didn't prepare with gortex or a thermal bubble shield… All he cared about was making sure she had a jacket on.

"You're so _different_ than Fox."

He opened the gate for her and they stepped out into the cold. "I'll take that as a compliment." He didn't like her new name and so, for now, he avoided using it all together. "I understand that he grew up and learned how to be a man with his heart. I'm sure it took quite some time before he opened up. Although dramatically depressed when I last faced him, Marcus McCloud seemed quite the possible lady's man. Perhaps he learned from his mother but I assume that Fox McCloud must have finally got his Arwing from out of his arse and…"

She lifted a paw. "There is no need to speak of Fox. I'm sorry I brought him up."

Caruso blinked in confusion. "You used to speak so freely of him when we were last together. I was jealous at first but got over it… I thought you…"

She shook her head. "No. I wasn't over him yet, when we last dated, Mister Caruso. In fact, I only dated you because I felt that if he ever found out what I was up to… he would be angry and jealous. You never gave me a good reason to move on. They say nothing gets you over the last one like the next one… You were _never_ the next one in my heart… I was just being loyal to you at the time."

He nodded with humility. "Understood. Perhaps, if you're ever willing to let me try… I could give you a good reason one day. Not a good reason to get over Fox – surely you're over him. I merely mean I could give you a good reason to smile again. While it may not be probable, I like to believe that anything is possible."

She nodded slowly in a measure of agreement while fastening the front of his jacket to keep herself warm in it. Earlier, she looked forward to trekking through the bitter cold because she liked the way it made her feel. But, for some reason, she found herself trying to stay warm inside of his jacket, pulling it tighter around herself. "Yes… anything _is_ possible, _Panther_." Together, they headed into the hills, towards the distant entrance of the Dark Ice mines.

* * *

** Fox sat up** with a grunt. Krystal was fast asleep but he felt something against his arm and it woke him from his slumber. He glanced over, seeing Tricky's nose halfway through the holographic virtual tent wall. He pulled his arms out of the sleeping bag and pushed Tricky's maw back through the non-existent wall. "What is with you, stay on your side."

"Fox," said the King Earthwalker in a somewhat low tone. "We're not alone. Don't you smell it?"

McCloud sniffed the air. He blinked. "It's distant but you're right, Tricky. Something is out there. What is it?"

"Bad guys," murmured the large dinosaur. "I nudged you awake on purpose, Fox. What about Krystal? Can she hear their thoughts?"

McCloud reached back into the sleeping blanket and gently gave Krystal a shake. She stirred with a mumble then poked her head out of the sleeping bag and asked, "What's the matter, love?" Her mind began to awaken and she sensed his concern. She cleared her head and telepathically probed the area. Venom lizards were beginning a morning patrol. She looked back to her husband and frowned. "How did you know?"

"Tricky smelled'em," whispered Fox.

"Impressive, he's better than the proximity alarm grid. Then again, they're not near enough to set it off – they're in the chamber where we met up with Tricky last night." She focused her mind for a moment then announced, "They've found the broken robotic sentries. They're beginning an investigation. Let's clean up our campsite and figure out a plan before they find us."

_Less than ten minutes later…_

Krystal withdrew her staff from the holster and gave it a slow twirl. She glanced back at Tricky and her husband. The red-furred fox gripped his blaster and Tricky was quiet. The dinosaur had their gear bags tied down to a saddle he was wearing and he looked like a bundle of nerves. He whispered to her, "I hate getting shot at. I helped Fara and Marcus out a few times while blasters we flying all around me. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now. Are you ready to do this?"

"Tricky, if you're not comfortable going up against armed enemies unless it's out of necessity…"

"No, no, I'll be fine Krystal. I've done it before and I'll do it again. I just wish they wouldn't keep their guns on such high blast levels. Those things hurt."

Fox gave his large scaly head a soft pat. "Relax, big guy. I've got my blaster and Krystal has her staff. The odds are in your favor. And be thankful it hurts. It does a lot more to people without thick hides like you."

Krystal approached her husband and murmured into his ear, "She's near. I can sense her. She senses me, too."

"What do you feel?"

"Artifice, Fox. I can sense the pretense in her heart and I sense someone else – this may get complicated. She's very shrewd, love – who knows what trick she'll have up her sleeve."

"How many reptiles?"

"There are a good amount of them between us and her. She's near… but she's not _here_. She's somewhere both cold and hot but I can't read the details. There's another with her. He's very familiar but I don't recognize him directly. He's equally astute but idealistic and has an enormous ego. I've never sensed this person before but they seem dreadfully familiar."

Fox clinched his teeth together. "What the hell is Panther Caruso doing with your doppelganger?"

She stopped, turning to face her husband. "You're radiating with jealousy, Fox. What have I missed, here?"

Tricky glanced over his shoulder at them and gawked. "Talk later guys, we've gotta get the drop on these bad guys before…"

Fox lifted a paw to usher him into silence. He turned back to his wife and showed her his wedding band. "See this ring? It's two things… to use your word, it's idealistic. It's romantic, it's a symbol of optimism and hope. It's a very positive thing. It's also pragmatic. It's realistic, practical and sensible. Marrying you was the smartest thing I could have ever done. It keeps me down-to-earth and reminds me that marrying my 'dream girl' is also the best thing I could have done for _me_. You're a want _and_ a need. Your doppelganger is part of you. She's the version of _you_ that I hurt because I screwed up. Panther is a panty chaser. He turns nice girls into the town tart. I don't want him around _any_ version of you."

She grinned at his words. "Why, Fox McCloud, I do believe that was something I needed to hear. You were sweet to me and you were jealous over me, which is a sure sign of showing that you care. I'm impressed."

"I've become a little better at wording thee, ah, mushy stuff since we married. I know you don't remember all the details yet, but there it is."

Again, she grinned brightly. "I remember little tidbits before we married, where you were shy and nervous around me. It was so cute… but seeing this side of you is _so_ much better."

"GUYS!" Tricky turned about in three quick circles and bounced. "Can you two finish this later?"

"If Panther is putting the moves on her…" Fox trailed off with a grimace at the mental image. "I'll tear off his you-know-what's." He cleared his throat quite suddenly and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to be offensive just now. Let's go clear these boobs out and head for DarkIce Mines. You said she's somewhere hot and cold at the same time. That's the place. C'mon."

Krystal became boisterous. She was far more peaceful as a mother. However, with a great deal of her maternal memories missing and with her heart feeling young again, she was ready to jump right into the fray. Instead of waiting for Fox and Tricky, she led the pack and was the first through the large granite door. It slid open on its tracks and the hallway opened up to a group of Venom Imperial lizards.

Fox hurried through then balked at the emblems and logos on their uniforms. "Don't these guys ever get tired of the whole 'fake monarchy' thing? Imperial markings? You've _got_ to be kidding." He opened fire without delay, continuing to grouse over the blaster shots.

Return fire traveled up the hallway towards them. Krystal lifted her staff and warded off the rounds with her staff's shield. "This should be fun!"

Tricky blinked. "I don't remember her being so happy to blow stuff up, Fox. What did you do to her?"

Krystal McCloud glanced back at him and answered in the third person in lieu of her husband. "She lost her memories. She's a teenager again, full of gusto and motivation. She's energetic and ready to show these guys who is boss in these parts." Her eyes cut to Fox, she grinned then sprinted up the hall. "Let's go!"

"Awkward," murmured Tricky. He bound off after her to keep her from getting herself into trouble.

"Yeah, tell me about it," muttered Fox in return. He hurried alongside of Tricky to keep up. He squeezed off a few more rounds as the trio emerged from the hallway into a large room. There were two broken robotic sentry droids on the floor and a surprising amount of lizards in the room.

The area turned into an all-out battlefield with gunshots flying in every direction. McCloud ticked off another two rounds, pivoted then fired a third. He kept moving so as not to become a target.

Meanwhile, Tricky lowered his head and rammed through two guards. They were thrown up into the air, struck the ceiling then fell to the floor behind him. He performed a circle, using his tail to knock them over by the wall. He bound off in a different direction, much like Fox, to try and keep from getting shot.

"We should fall back," shouted McCloud to his wife. "We should have used something to stun them, first!"

"Don't be so grumpy!" She slammed the base of her staff into the floor and vaulted forward. Her feet connected with one lizard and threw him down. She withdrew her personal blaster in her right paw and fired two quick rounds off to the side. Her first shot hit another lizard in his leg, bringing him to the floor. The second one hit the same lizard in his shoulder on his way down. It wasn't a lethal hit but it took him out of the battle just the same.

"If it's all the same to you," called Tricky, "I think we should worry more about them calling for backup then anything else!"

With a huff, Fox jerked around and fired his weapon again. It struck a soldier in his forehead, killing him instantly. McCloud shook his left fist in satisfaction then turned to another lizard that was close by. He saw the man approaching with a weapon. The vulpine pilot acted on instincts. He reached for the gun, shoving it upwards. The reptile's blaster discharge struck the ceiling. In that time, Fox brought a knee up into the man's gut, doubled him over into a pistol whip across the face then twirled around with an extended leg. The roundhouse brought the man to the stone floor. Fox kicked his weapon from his hand and shot the attacker in his torso then rushed back towards the others. "They're everywhere!"

"Yeah, I see that!" shouted Tricky. He gasped in a deep breath then expelled a plume of intense flame that engulfed two attackers. Their blasters fired in random directions. One bounced off of Krystal's staff shield. Fox watched the other round sail over him and into the ceiling.

The pilot cut his eyes to his wife then reached down to a small unit on his gear belt. He activated the temporary barrier shield and rushed towards the remaining men at the far end of the room. Their volley of blaster rounds bounced off of his energy bubble. He lifted his weapon in mid run and shouted a battle cry at the top of his lungs.

The lizards saw him and heard his shouting. They dispersed instinctually. One of the reptiles ran but was looking over his shoulder. He struck Tricky head on and flipped over the bony fan plate around the Earthwalker's head. He landed on the dinosaur's back with a grunt. Without warning, Tricky rolled over and began to wiggle around as though he were scratching an itch. His immense weight caused the lizard to be squished into near paste. He screamed at first but the already-muffled noise was cut short abruptly. Tricky rolled back off of him and roared at two other lizards. They blinked and turned to run away.

Feeling powerful, Tricky ran after them. He called out to the fleeing lizards. "C'mon! Let's play!" He spit out a wad of flame, singing their tails as they fled.

Krystal whirled about, using her staff to take the feet out from beneath an enemy. They stumbled so she followed through by striking them in the face with a second staff attack then finished them off with the blaster still in her other paw. A quick shot to the torso threw them to the ground. She lowered the cane's tip against his hip and charged the staff the way in which she would utilize a vertical jump with it. The energy was transferred from the staff to the lizard, propelling him through the air. The lizard struck a wall and dropped onto a pile of his fellow Imperial guards. The fallen pile let out a deep groan from the new addition to their crumbled group.

She tilted the staff to the left, her blaster to the right and fired off an energy round from each. One of the lizards fleeing from Tricky took the fireball and stumbled. Seconds later, he was trampled by the dinosaur. Meanwhile, Krystal's gunshot struck a lizard behind Fox in the elbow. The lizard was thrown forward into McCloud.

Fox instinctively doubled over, flipping the injured soldier onto his back with intense force. A loud POP was heard, followed by a cry of pain from the man at Fox' feet. The pilot knew instantly that the lizard's hipbone was most likely broken. He reached for the lizard's blaster and charged towards the last of his enemies, dual-wielding the pistols. The coloration of his barrier began to change from blue to magenta, growing weak. He continued to fire both weapons in a hard sprint.

In a fast approach against four lizards, Fox's barrier shield fizzled out. He took down two and collided with the other two at full force. Tackling his way through the remaining two turned into a rowdy scuffle filled with snarls and growling.

Tricky struck one of the lizards from behind and jerked his head up, throwing the man up into the air like the one from earlier. The reptile hit the ceiling then bounced hard and struck the floor, rolling several times. The King Earthwalker continued in a straight line, plowing through two of the men that Fox just shot to keep them from getting back up.

Krystal rushed towards her husband, holstered her blaster and swung the staff like a bat. The tip struck one of the lizards in the back of his head. Fox continued to grasp and grapple with the last attacker. Both of their blasters discharged almost in unison. Both bodies became silent.

"FOX!" shouted Tricky.

Krystal rushed to him and pulled him off of the motionless lizard. Her husband groaned softly, cradling his torso. She sighed in relief, seeing him alive. He grunted with a wince of pain. "Are you okay, love?"

"Point blank into my armored vest… I'm going to have bruised ribs for sure." His breathing was somewhat labored and the red-furred vulpine offered a miserable moan. He continued to push his paw inwards, reaching beneath the vest to rub against the offending sensation. "Nothing is broken, guys. My barrier ran out just a second earlier than I'd hoped." He sat up then got to one knee. "Boy that smarts like hell."

"I bet," said Tricky with a shake of his head. "That's why I hate fighting guys with guns. It hurts."

Krystal took Fox's paw and helped him to his feet. "Want me to kiss it better?"

"I won't stop you," he said with a chuckle, adding, "But you'd have to take my shirt and vest off, first."

"Please don't," begged the third wheel with a scaly frown. "Hey, I know… We'll get you some white grub-tub, Fox."

"Please don't," McCloud said, repeating Tricky's last statement in the same tone. He cradled his ribs with one paw and holstered his blaster with the other. "I guess I'm getting old."

Krystal kissed the side of his face. "You're only as old as you feel. You want to have another baby?"

Both boys blinked. She offered them a lame sort of grin, knowing it would catch Fox by surprise and help him take his mind off the pain in his chest. He looked back at Tricky who shrugged as best as a quadraped could. Fox blushed brightly, something he'd not done in years around Krystal then he clinched his teeth together and gave her a brilliant Cheshire smile. "Why not?"

"Then let's get through this mess so we can go relax, already!" She laughed softly and jerked her head to the left. "This way. It leads to a tunnel that will take us to the dungeon deep below DarkIce. It's our best bet to head them off."

Tricky looked up at Fox with a playful snicker. "Fox and Krystal sitting in a tree… k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes…"

Krystal placed her paw against the small of her husband's back. "He's just jealous that you have a loving wife. C'mon _boys_," she told them in a chiding tone. "Follow me."

* * *

**"Here it is. When this thing goes off, it'll cause a quake** that will be felt all the way at the Walled City." She turned to Panther and gauged his reaction by his facial expression. After deciding that he wasn't going to back out, she added, "Ironic, though… in my universe, you betrayed me to fame and fortune and the people of Corneria who praised you as a hero. It's ironic that you offer to betray Corneria to help _me_ destroy it."

"One can only imagine that I was an arrogant fool, more so than normal. Krystal, I loved and let go because I must have been insane. In this universe, I loved and lost but I never stopped loving."

She looked away and nodded somewhat. "Very well. So far, you've proven trustworthy. Let's set the timer and leave quickly. I sense that she's getting close and I do _not_ want her to stop me. I've worked hard to create this plan and I aim to see it to fruition."

"I know nothing about these devices."

She placed a paw against his arm. "No worries, Panther. I was given instructions." She knelt in front of the large egg-shaped metallic device and opened a computerized panel on the side. "I almost wish this bomb was built to be 'dirty'. With more megatons and more radiation, it would be far more deadly to our incoming enemies. Don't worry about who they are – just know they're here to stop me. Too late, though," she said while punching in the command sequence. "It's already made and I commissioned it to be designed this way so that we could come back down here later on and excavate. I'm ready to move to phase two after this… It'll require hunting down Marcus and his son, James McCloud."

"Very well." Panther's barritone growl reverberated at the back of his throat as though it had come directly from his chest. "How long are you setting the timer?"

She reached into her pocket and withdrew a stopwatch. "It took us…" she paused and struck the button at the top. "…Approximately thirty minutes to get here. We made very good time. We'll have to _run_ to get back. I'm going to set it for twenty minutes. Are you ready?"

"Yes." For once, Panther had very little to say.

She finished punching in the commands then stood up and broke into a sprint. Panther followed her. The two hurried through the bowels of the Dark Ice Mines and onto a conveyer belt used by several dinosaur tribes for mining ore. With the belt headed in the direction away from the bomb, their run helped them to cover more ground in less time.

"Hurry!" she called out to him regardless of the fact that he was right on her heels. They made it to the end of the conveyer belt and headed for a spiral ramp cut into the ground used for wheeling carts towards the surface. She was short of breath in a matter of minutes but got her second wind and continued onwards with the fresh adrenaline. "Not much further!" she called back to him.

"You didn't give us very much time! There's no way we can travel over ten miles in twenty minutes!" Panther scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder. His long legs helped him cover larger distances in shorter time spans.

"It's underground! Beneath the granite, the dirt and the snow; we'll be safe!" She shouted against his broad back. She clung to him so as not to be dropped.

Eventually they made it to a recently built elevator in the mineshaft. Panther laid her down on the floor and moved to the elevator controls. He fussed with it for a moment then growled at the lack of power.

Kursed stood up and threw her arms around him. Not understanding her intentions, he hugged her in return. Their bodies began to levitate. His eyes widened as she telekinetically carried them in a vertical ascent. Willing her heart to calm, she sank into a deeper meditation, causing the pair to increase in speed. Before long, the granite walls were flying by at a rapid pace. Above, the tunnel was a blurry white light. They clung to one another. Panther could feel cold against the back of his neck.

They shot out of the elevator shaft and into the sky. Caruso saw treetops beneath them but they didn't drop altitude. Kursed kept her eyes shut and clung to him in silence, willing them to cover immense ground rapidly. He clung to her to keep her shielded from the arctic chill. His jacket kept her warm but his fur was tousled by the freezing wind.

Quite suddenly an intense rumbling filled their ears. A shockwave ripped through the land as trees were thrown from the ground and, in the distance, a volcanic eruption burst into the sky. Kursed gasped, losing her concentration. She sensed the cave in that her doppelganger experienced. She could actually _see_ Krystal, Fox and Tricky getting buried in the mine. She felt their overpowering presence of fear. She lost her breath from the sensation; her concentration was gone.

"We're falling!" shouted Panther. It brought her back to reality. The two pilots fell from the sky. Far below them, snow was tumbling down the side of the Snow Horn Mountain. It rushed like a river, carrying trees and even boulders.

"…I'm… I'm sorry, Panther!"

"I won't let you go," he promised her.

She had a brief flashback to Fox clinging to her after the dam burst (_Chapter 14, Reflections of the Future_) and she remembered begging him not to let go. She leered down at the sea of white and, for the first time in a _long_ time, she did _not_ want to die. "_Don't …let… go… Panther!_" Her unspoken words were pushed into his mind, causing him to become dazed. It was then she realized that her ability to psychically project her voice into the mind of a non-telepathic target was difficult on the subject. Was that why Fox fainted all those years ago? Is that why he let go? Was it really _her fault_?

Panther shook off the effects and clung to her tighter than ever… and… for the first time in ages, she felt safe for some reason as they plummeted through the icy sky. She took a deep breath then released it just as their bodies struck the snow. The avalanche was slowing to a halt but the depth of the layered snow cushioned their bodies, slowing their spiraling descent. The wind was gone. While cold, the snow was far warmer than the frigid, windy air.

She still had his arms around her… unlike Fox, he didn't let go of her. Silence. Darkness. She couldn't sense Fox, Krystal, Tricky or even Panther any longer. She struggled to stay awake but it was so warm in his arms especially now that they were out of the wind. She could easily breathe from the hole that led up to the surface and her racing heart began to calm. Kursed wanted to sit up but the strain was too much. Her eyes lolled back into her head and she fainted in Panther's embrace.

* * *

A/N: _How's THAT for a cliffhanger? A double whammy! Flirting, action, fighting, running for yer life… a little tender moment, however brief, then… BAM! Yeah, man, EVERYONE is in trouble now! Sauria might as well just explode from all the drama alone! OHNOEZ! FURRY DRAMA! Lol. In all seriousness, how was it gang?_

_See you next chapter! _


	17. Anezka Vacek

A/N: _Surprise, I've started restoring REFLECTIONS OF KRYSTAL. I posted chapter 1. Let me know if there's anything I need to fix. I'm going to do the entire story because it's so darn short. I'll be fixing all the inconsistencies so that it ties into the rest of the series better. I'll be fixing spelling mistakes, removing about a billion over-used comas, and I'll be making sure that I add more content. I guess you could call it the "director's cut" version. I won't be removing very much so as not to change what people already liked back in 2005. Mostly, I'm just editing it, taking out inconsistencies that don't tie properly into the rest of the series… that sort of thing. I just want things smooth, y'know? SO yeah, chapter 1 is up now. It's only three thousand words, lol. Super short. xD So go ahead and give it a peek. I'll be doing the rest of the story very soon. It doesn't require a lot of thought or creativity because I'm not re-writing some fresh new story or re-doing the entire plotline. I'm just doing an editorial job and adding a little bit of extra material to extend some of the chapters, nothing more. _

_Okay, I debated long and hard about bringing in yet another bad guy. I really, really didn't know if I should do it or not. I have been debating on doing this since chapter 12's update. I came up with the name and was like, "Ooo, that sounds EVIL!" The thing is, I wanted to keep certain elements as canonical as possible… but then I realized… I'm doing a story about the adult life of Marcus McCloud… I've got him flying around with the children of Wolf O'Donnell and dating Fara Phoenix who was never 'game canon' to begin with, not to mention having Kursed and Krystal in the same story… yeah, it's nowhere near canon by this sixth story, now is it? It's so far away from being compatible with canon that the two can't even be used in the same sentence! _

_If I REALLY wanted to call ANY Reflections story "possible game canon compatible," it would have to be Reflections of Peppy and Reflections of Fox. And even that is pushing it. SO! It's time to have fun in Reflections of Marcus. Who knows, maybe one day I'll do another series of stories that are strictly tightly compatible with game canon. ANYHOW! It's time to bring in a fun new bad guy and maybe even make Krystal and Kursed have to team up a little? Maybe. I've not yet decided!_

_

* * *

_

Chapter -17-  
"Anezka"

**"What are those fools doing?"** Dash Bowman glanced back at his sensor scope and tilted his head with a frown. He opened a channel to Star Wolf and furrowed his brows. "Why are you three going to Sauria?"

Wolf's visual distorted from a quick static burst. "Relax. Panther is down there as a security detail to your precious little friend with the blue fur. Yeah. You know the one I'm talking about. Anyhow, we read signs of a large explosion. Bliss, Leon and I want to do a little fly by to make sure no one is dropping ordinance like Corneria Cap City got last year. Just chill out." He closed the channel, leaving Bowman to grimace.

Did Kursed's blast attract _that much attention_? He opened a channel to her but received no reply. Next, he ran a trace on her tracking beacon but it showed that the signal was lost. He attempted the trace scan again but received the same result.

"Is there a problem?" asked Asper Sarnoff from his post in the corner.

Bowman turned to him and frowned. "Perhaps. There's a possibility that Kursed is in trouble. I have no way of knowing for sure."

"Would you like me to arrange a search party?"

"No," said Bowman with a slow shake of his head. "That… will not be necessary at this time, Colonel. She's most likely below the surface. When one is underground, the signal tends to be less than perfect. You should go and get ready for your next training session with the SharpClaw tribe. You're dismissed for the afternoon."

Sarnoff nodded, saluted and left Bowman's quarters. He walked with a confident stride down the hallway until he reached his private quarters. Immediately, he contacted Fara Phoenix. Her visual showed on his wristband communicator. She answered.

"Instructor Phoenix," said Asper, "Word is that Kursed is missing in action. Dash doesn't wish to show it but he's dreadfully concerned."

Fara frowned. "Yes, and Marcus' parents are missing, too. We've paid Star Wolf to ferry us to Sauria so as to remain stealthy. Marcus woke up around zero-four hundred hours claiming his mother somehow telepathically reached out to him in distress. He's had no contact with her since, even though we're entering Sauria's atmosphere. He said it's possible that she's unconscious; we're trying to remain optimistic. I'll contact you if our situation requires your intel; keep an ear to the ground for any changes and continue to lay low." She closed the channel from her end, leaving Sarnoff to ponder the severity of their circumstances.

* * *

**Fay Spaniel shook her head**, glancing back up at Bill. "It doesn't hurt that bad." She cocked her head slightly and her left ear shrugged upwards, causing the white-curls of soft fur to move forward. Her ear framed the side of her face in the most adorable way. "It's just a broken toe," she murmured with another shake of her head. Her left ear flopped back into place. "It's honestly fine."

"No, no it's not," said Bill with a frown. He flipped on the light switch and guided his hobbling his fiancé through the doorway and to his old bed. Once she was seated on it, he knelt down adjacent to her and eased the sandal from her footpaw. The small toe was crooked and, like she'd just said, it was certainly broken. His frown deepened with concern; he lifted his eyes to her. "Yeah, I'll tape this up for you. Marcus is going to hear from me."

She shook her head quickly, causing her ears to flop back and forth. The spaniel-mixed-poodle gave him a slight grin. "This is hardly Marcus' fault. He's not lived here in ages… and you stayed here for some time after he left to restart Star Fox right, William?"

"But he's the one who kept it this way and that's why I moved out. He never came back to clean it up." (_Chapter 1 and 2 of Next Generation_)

Yet again, she shook her head in a semi-playful way and reached for his old nightstand where a roll of tape sat next to an alarm clock. She passed it to him with a lame grin. "It may be cluttered but at least you kept what you'd need just lying around, right?"

He cut his gaze back to her crooked toe. "You act like it doesn't even hurt, Fay."

"Of course it does," she said. "But you can redirect pain to tolerate life. Your brain really only processes one sharp injury at a time." She lifted her left paw and showed him that she was making a fist. Her fingers opened, displaying red welts in her palm where she'd used her fingernails against the soft padding. "I'm doing it because it hurts less than the broken toe and I'm offsetting that pain with _this_ pain. Understand?"

He looked at her paw then her toe then lifted his eyes to hers with a nod. "I'm impressed. Needless to say, I'm kinda' surprised. You're obviously in a lot of pain but you're dealing with it really well."

"Women are better about pain then men," she said with a point of her finger to the tape she'd given him. "Go on, William."

He began to tape her toes together carefully. "I thought only mothers were good about pain because they compare every future injury and sickness to what labor was like…"

"You thought wrong," she murmured. She reached her paws to his cheeks and lifted his head so that their eyes met. "But I'll let you know for sure soon enough. It's time you know for certain; I went to the doctor's office yesterday morning to get proof, first. I thought about how to tell you but now is as good of a time as any." She saw the expression on his face – he looked as though he was worried she'd announce something about having cancer. After having been through so much, pessimism was to be expected. To put his worry at ease, she smiled in the most loving and tender way she could. "William… I'm pregnant."

His eyes widened and his heart began to race. She smiled at his reaction and said, "Look at you, William, you're glowing. They told me that they want me to have a very closely monitored pregnancy because… I mean hey I'm in my fifties after all. But they also did a full physical and deem me healthy enough to go through with this. But this is our chance! Isn't it exciting?"

He didn't know what to say and so Fay continued, "Krystal recently pulled me aside by the wrist (_Chapter 12_). She told me she could sense it… in fact, it was the day Miyu, Fara and Krystal left to rescue you. Anyhow, Krys placed her paws on my belly and even though she was struggling with her abilities… she was able to sense our son."

His jaw dropped and his maw widened. "Son?"

She beamed, knowing he'd be excited. "Yes, William. We're going to have a _son_. She could sense, somehow, that it was going to be a boy. The doctor's office did a genetic scan and told me that the results showed there was no double-X chromosome. They confirmed we'd be having a boy. He's the size of a grain of rice so far." She reached into her pocket and withdrew a set of photographs. "Here are the sonogram pictures. This is our son." She eased them into his paw. He broke the tape from the roll, tucked the excess between her toes and put the roll aside. He licked his lips and reverently reached for the photos. Fay reached for his cheeks once more. "I want you to name him."

"Are you sure you want me to name him? You don't want to give him his first name and I'll come up with his middle name?"

Fay shook her head. "No, I want you to name him. There's no need to rush since I'm not very far along but I want _you_ to have the honor. Anything you want."

He swallowed and placed his paws up on her flat belly. "I have a name." He looked up to see her expression then told her, "John Rutherford Grey, son of Bill and Fay Grey." A brief pause with a smile then he said, "I like the way that rolls off my tongue… Bill and Fay Grey."

She leaned forward and kissed him softly. It lasted for several moments then she sat up on his old bed and asked, "Why John Rutherford Grey?"

"Because he's _my_ personal hero and saved the lives of the survivors of Corneria's Capital City after 'the bomb'." (_Chapter 19 Next Generation_) He brought us information about Venom and he brought us vital uncontaminated supplies. He brought us food when we were on the verge of starvation. Venom stopped him just a few blocks from the old Interplanetary Defense Council building. When I found him, he was already dead. But the supplies were still in the car and the critical information was there, too. I found his identification and, as the General, I deemed him a hero of the planet."

"Quite an honor," she murmured.

"It's a shame it was posthumously." He took her paw and gave it a gentle squeeze. "He gave his life to save ours. Is it all right to name our son after a man you've never met?"

She nodded with a smile. "Anything you want, my sweet General. John Rutherford Grey. It's a strong, manly name; furthermore he managed to bring salvation to the man I love. And with you as the father, I'm sure our boy will live up to the same heroic and honorable standards." She gave his paw a return squeeze and told him, "I love you. And I'd be honored to be Fay Grey.

"When would you like to get married, William? We have a lot of planning ahead of us. And we still have to do what we came here to do." She lifted her paw from his and waved it in a circle above her head to gesture around the room. "We've come to get your belongings and lay low, here on Katina. So let's make the best of _lying low_ and clean up this place, hmm? And we should probably buy a larger bed."

Bill stood up and gazed down at his future wife with a sly grin. "Yeah, I guess this twin mattress is a _bit_ small for two people. Let's go into town and pick one up."

"First thing's first," she said, motioning once more to the cluttered pad. "Your room isn't bad… but the rest of this place needs a woman's touch. We should tend to it before we bring something large like a bed down into this den."

He put his palms upon her hips, firmly. "No, _first_ thing is _first_." He pulled her into his arms, clasped her firmly and held her to him. He eased his arm beneath her legs and lifted her. Bill moved to the center of the room to keep her away from the walls so that he wouldn't accidentally bump her feet into the bulkheads, the television or anything else. "I love you and I'm _so happy_ about this."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and put her head against his. "William, I love you and I'll make it easy to plan for this marriage. Make the napkins blue, the table cloths white and invite the whole cast."

He laughed softly, keeping her aloft in his embrace. "The whole _cast_?"

She chuckled, keeping her forehead against his. "Of course, Love. If we were characters in some sort of… silly… story of our lives, just invite everyone involved. See? Easy. I won't be one of those brides that get choosey and stressed out over everything."

"You're cute," he told her in a soft voice. "You've broken your toe, Fay. Stay off your feet and let it heal. I'll take care of this place. You get online and order a mattress from a place offering same-day delivery. Sounds good? The laptop is beneath the alarm clock."

She nodded and kissed his nose. "Sounds good." She wiggled a little bit and giggled at him when her gesture to be released was understood. He put her body onto the bed and propped a pillow beneath her injured footpaw. She reached back for his nightstand and eased a small laptop from under his alarm clock. She put the clock back in its place and opened the notebook computer. After a moment her eyes lifted to her future husband with a half-smirk. "I see your laptop's operating system needs a few updates – you've not booted it up in ages."

He grinned back at her. "Fair enough. Okay, I'm going to clean up around this den." Bill reached into his front pocket and pulled out his wallet. He tossed it to her and said, "Use either the blue or the red card. The gray and white ones were canceled day before yesterday to keep us off the grid."

* * *

**The intercom flashed.** Marcus crossed the small shuttle's cargo area and touched the viewscreen. It came to life with Wolf O'Donnell's face. They locked gaze with one another over the channel. Wolf smiled. "We're almost there, kid. See? I'm a man of my word."

McCloud nodded to the left as if only half agreeing. "Yeah, and the money was too good to pass up, right?"

"You're the telepathic one, kid. Why have Star Wolf bring you to Sauria anyhow?"

"Y'know how everyone says I'm dead on the news?"

"Yeah, I kinda' noticed that."

The younger pilot shrugged. "There you go. You're unofficially working for Dash so… I mean it seems stupid for me to board a Phoenix star-liner because it's a public transport. I'd be spotted and Star Fox loses its future stealth advantage. You do the math. Oh! And just so you know… it was Fara's idea to call you."

"It's also _her_ money that pays your fare, pup," said O'Donnell. "Don't get me wrong, kid. I called you instead of your father when I wanted to sell you Jim McCloud's crap. I even _like you_ more than your father. But I sure as hell wouldn't have done this job for free."

Marcus turned away with a frown, watching Fara Phoenix across from him. She didn't say anything. He sucked in a deep breath and turned back to the view screen. "Just the same, thank you for sneaking us to Sauria. It was an emergency. Trust me, if I had Theodore's cloaking device, I'd be there by now. If an Arwing had the range to cross Lylat without needing to refuel, I'd be there by now."

"What's your rush anyhow?"

McCloud looked off to the right so as not to make eye contact. "You wouldn't give a crap. Why bother you with it?"

Wolf's smile broadened. "You're right, I don't. That's why I like you… you're right to the point and you don't drone on about details. But something tells me that your involvement on Sauria might somehow have an effect on my team… or possibly my kids. So tell me, what's the rush?"

"I woke up a few hours ago feeling intense distress from my mother. But Corneria is so far from Sauria I can't sense the details. Right now, I'm too emotionally wound up to think straight… Either way, everything is quiet and I can't contact her. Something serious happened."

Wolf brought a paw to his chin but it was barely visible at the bottom of the screen. "Panther is down there checking things out… I've not heard from him in over twenty-four hours. I don't even have a link to his transponder beacon – he vanished."

"I appreciate you giving me a heads up, Mister O'Donnell."

"You told me a little tidbit, I return the favor. That's just 'business 101', kid. Listen, I don't know for sure if your parents are down there but Panther was in an awful hurry to leave for Sauria. He only gets weird like that around 'tail'. Fifty credits say Krystal is involved."

Marcus looked away again, hearing Wolf refer to his mother as a piece of tail. "I'll have Fara transfer the other half of your payment now. Thanks for the lift." He closed the channel and moved back to his girlfriend. The young man shook his head with a sigh. "There's something Wolf knows that he isn't telling me. I don't know what it is; I can't concentrate because I'm too riled up. My gut tells me that he knows a lot more about Panther's involvement and, possibly, who else is involved in this whole sorted mess."

"But with Star Wolf unofficially working for Venom, Dash won't question the team or check up on their movement around Lylat. This was _still_ our stealthiest approach. Everyone still thinks you're dead so there's no harm, no foul. Plus, we now know that Panther is down on the planet somewhere."

"Last I saw him he wanted to kill me," he told the fennec. "My father refers to him as a 'panty chaser'. Vivian told me he was 'sweet' to her so… being sweet and flirty is his modus operandi. He's also a pretty graceful fighter and a reliable pilot. I think he didn't show any major interest in Vivian because she's way too young for him. Either that or he's not into dating rabbits. Just expect him to act like an idiot around you."

Fara shrugged. "Thanks for the heads up, sweetheart, but I'm no longer on the market so advances don't work on me. Besides, I despise panty chasers. Let's track him down. He's sure to know where your parents are and if he doesn't… well, we'll track them down either way so stop worrying." She placed a comforting paw on his arm. When he didn't respond she leaned forward and snuggled into his embrace to relax him. The fennec smiled in reply to his arm slipping around her. Meanwhile she withdrew an internet-ready communicator device. She thumbed the screen and transferred the other half of the amount promised to Star Wolf.

Moments later, the shuttle settled on the Saurian surface and the back door opened. Bliss O'Donnell stepped into the cargo section and leaned against the bulkhead. "Okay, you two. Stay sharp. My father and Leon won't be sticking around to provide backup. Also, if you didn't know already, Panther Caruso is down here somewhere. I set down near his ship and some shuttle with Imperial Venom markings." She cut her eyes to Fara, looked the vixen over and smiled. "Not bad, McCloud. She's as cute as Lombardi's daughter – you have good choice in women." Bliss redirected her tone towards Fara and said, "Watch out for that pervert. Caruso is a certified weenie. He's a lecherous old man anymore and I wouldn't trust him if I were you."

"Will do," replied Phoenix.

"He and I don't see eye to eye, either," Marcus noted with a shrug of his shoulders.

She turned back to Marcus and rolled her shoulders forward with a reply shrug similar to his own. "He doesn't want to fight you anymore, though. He gave up on that when he found out your mother was still alive. Be glad. He usually doesn't give up until his target is dead." She ducked back into the cockpit and shut the door.

With the aft doors open, Marcus and Fara proceeded down the short ramp and into the grass. Once they were off the shuttle, the rear section closed and it immediately lifted back into the air. Accompanied by two Wolfen fighters, the Rainbow Delta and O'Donnell's ship, the trio quickly ascended back into the atmosphere.

McCloud moved around the other side of Panther's fighter and placed his paw on the hull plating of the Imperial shuttle. He abruptly pulled his paw away and turned to Fara with a look of slight panic. "Kursed… she's here. I can't sense her _or_ my parents. Or Panther for that matter – it's as though you're the only person around. I don't know why… probably because I'm so keyed up right now. I can't sense anything beyond this hollow." He paused then brought a paw to his muzzle. Slowly, he turned back towards Phoenix and grinned somewhat. "I know we _bumped into_ one another back at the airport but… right here in Thorntail Hollow… this… _this_ is where you and I met for the first time."

"I remember Crimson flirting heavily with me at first," she said with a slight chuckle. "He told me I was hot and I told him I was too old for him. He referred to me as a _MILF_. I told him I couldn't be a 'milf' because I didn't have any children." She offered her paw and he took it. "Maybe we can use the Venom ship to scan the area for Cornerian bio-signs. Panther's ship is probably locked down but …we should be able to hack a Venom computer."

"We'd need Theodore's help and, possibly, a Venom translator." Marcus shook his head slowly and reached over his shoulder. He flipped open the top of his backpack and withdrew a short metal pole with a black tar-like mass coating the tip. He gripped the pole by the shaft and it extended into Kursed's staff. "We'll need transportation. Since we don't have the keys to either of these ships our best bet is to find a local helper." He gripped the staff firmly and held it up like an aerial to augment his abilities. Silence.

Two minutes passed and Marcus lowered the staff. He turned to Fara and opened his muzzle to offer an apology when a distant screech caught their attention. Phoenix looked up at a dot in the sky. She narrowed her gaze then asked, "Am I going to regret this?"

"Maybe," he said, putting the staff into a holster between his back and his knapsack. "But we'll make really good time." He watched the dot in the distance. It grew larger… a pterodactyl of rather modest size approached the hollow. It flapped to slow its descent then swiftly landed in the grass, folding its wings along its back. It approached Marcus and tilted its head.

"He's enormous," whispered Fara with a measure of respect in her voice. She had a natural fear of what appeared to be a wild animal but seeing Marcus so relaxed made her trust the beast to be safe. "What's that around his neck?"

Marcus licked his lips and slowly approached the large featherless dinosaur. He cleared his throat then spoke in a language Fara didn't understand. To her surprise, the dinosaur replied in an affable tone. Marcus said something further then the pterodactyl returned with what sounded like several sentences.

He laughed as if delighted then turned back to Phoenix. "This is _KITE_! He's so much _bigger _than my parents described him." He turned back to the pterosaur and spoke the intricate language again. Once more the large animal replied. McCloud turned to Fara again and lifted a paw, using his fingers to count for a moment. "Okay, so …he's about one hundred seventy-something years old in Cornerian revolutions. He should probably live to about two hundred fifty or so. Also, since reptiles typically continue to grow their entire life, he's a bit larger than when mom and dad met him over two and a half decades ago. He also says he can carry us both but there's a really bad cold front moving in through the area where the 'blast' just happened."

"The blast?" The fennec's ears lowered and she asked, "How does a dinosaur know about cold fronts?"

"He said there's a south-ward wind blowing down from the arctic section and it's creating a below-freezing wind. It's too treacherous to fly over the 'blast area', so I'll have him take us as far as he can then we'll have to walk the rest of the way. I'll check Panther's ship while you check the Imperial shuttle. Let's find some gear and something warm to wear."

She nodded and headed into the abandoned shuttle. Marcus turned towards Panther's ship but was unable to get into it. After several failed attempts he turned back to Kite and began speaking again in the ancient language of the Saurian dinosaurs.

Fara returned with two impressive Gortex parkas. "There's a _lot_ of good emergency supplies. Whoever left them either had superior equipment on them or… they're a moron for leaving all this great stuff." She turned back to the pterodactyl and frowned. "So we're going to ride on this thing?"

Both of my parents did… I can't believe he's alive. To this day, they both think he's dead because _most_ of the CloudRunner tribe died in the Aparoid invasion. This is _Kite_, I mean… God I hope I find them alive just so… I mean they'll never believe it. This is great." He turned back to the large dinosaur and spoke to it again. The featherless reptile bird replied. Its enunciation was impressive and made it sound like quite an educated creature to Fara. He reached for her paw and drew her close then spoke to Kite again. He shook his head with a slight chuckle. "I wish we had another translator like the one we gave to Tricky. That would come in handy right about now, huh?"

"No, sweetheart, we'll make due with you translating. The conversation sounds intense."

"He said there was an explosion yesterday. It was volcanic in nature but came from the ground unlike a volcano. Instead of leaving a crater at the top of a mountain, the ground simply burst open. He also said there was surprisingly little lava. The shockwave was felt from the Walled City all the way to the CloudRunner fortress. Typically, Earthwalkers and CloudRunners don't see eye to eye until Tricky's 'future queen' managed to bring peace to the two tribes. But because of their historical feud, the Walled City is about seven hundred miles from their fortress. What kind of explosion has the power to cause a quake in both places at once?"

She frowned and shrugged somewhat, lifting her paws to gesture in ignorance. "Perhaps another one of those damn bombs that was used on Corneria? But it would have to be more powerful than the one used on us last year. I'm not sure how much more powerful but… either way… it would have to have a lot of punch. I'm almost afraid to ask but what about finding Tricky to help us? He'll know the layout better than we will."

Marcus turned back to Kite and spoke again. After a moment, the large beast replied. McCloud frowned. "That's… that's not good. Tricky hasn't been heard from for quite some time. He disappeared before my parents showed up. He was said to have gone into a jungle temple that links to a temple out in the snow region. The explosion in the snow area wasn't horribly far from where Tricky was said to have gone."

She lowered her head and offered a nod. "That's no good. What of his future 'queen'? Perhaps she can help us find him. Also, how close are the jungle and snow regions?"

Marcus shrugged and turned back to Kite for all the answers. Shortly after, he told Fara, "Her name is Hope. She's in the Walled City but it's another day's travel by air from our destination. Also, he says the jungle region goes all the way to the mountains. On the other side of the first large mountain is the Ice Horn range. Due to their altitude, they're full of snow. The blast caused six avalanches yesterday, so it's difficult to find much of anything right now. He also says if we fly low the wind is tolerable to a degree."

"Have him drop us off," she said. "When we start searching the ground, he can continue on to this… Walled City… He can give future-queen Hope our location and she can meet us at some point. Traveling through snow is going to be difficult for a multi-ton dinosaur so tell your friend to warn Hope against going through certain areas. Let's pack these coats and some extra things then we should get underway. Approximately what time it is here?"

Marcus spoke to Kite for several moments. At one point, the pterodactyl approached a tree and stalked around it in a circle then spoke to Marcus. He replied and the dialogue continued for another few minutes. Finally, he turned back to his girlfriend and said, "Judging by the shadow of the nearest tree, Kite says it's about eleven in the morning." He knew what was on the fennec's mind and joined her in synchronizing his watch. "Okay, let's load him up with whatever we're taking then we should head towards the epicenter. He says it's less than an hour travel by air… and that it would be quicker if the weather wasn't so bad up in the mountains."

"Lets do this," she replied. "Remember to try and keep your mind open so that you can help us find anyone. I just hope Fox and Krystal are okay." She licked her lips apprehensively then nodded to Kite. The large animal lowered his head to the ground and bent his knees. Fara made her way up onto his back and Marcus followed, sitting behind her. Phoenix sighed with a shake of her head. "Sentient life forms were not meant to be ridden in such a way. This isn't a safe idea," she muttered beneath her breath.

"It's the best we've got," he said, binding up the two coats then tying them down to the side of Kite's leathery lukewarm skin. "And he knows his way around very well. Both of my parents trusted him… so should I. I'm actually kind of excited."

* * *

**A softly furred blue paw** tightened into a weak fist as its owner attempted to defeat the state of unconsciousness. A groan rolled from her voice and she tried to straighten her body but was unable to move very well. She felt her fingers against something soft and she paused. She ran her fingers over it only to realize that she felt another hand. Her fingers interlaced with his and she felt relieved that his paw was warm to the touch. It meant they'd both survived so far.

With another soft groan, the little blue vixen wiggled somewhat, giving his paw a firm squeeze. Krystal attempted another shift in her weight but she was firmly pinned into position by the fallen debris. She was sweating and her facial fur was matted down. Her ear flickered, hearing a gentle hum. It was then that she realized her staff was in her other paw. She opened her eyes and squinted from the dust. She spit it away from her mouth, coming to realize that the fine powder had covered her lips as well. A soft blue glow illuminated everything around her.

A block of granite was lying upon her with gnarled ancient rebar jutting from the ends. It wasn't completely flat upon her because of stones that were on either side. She was able to wiggle a bit more. She blinked a few times from the dust then looked back up at the blue light… Her mind sharpened and her eyes widened. She'd vaguely recalled the last seconds of the cave in… She, Fox and Tricky huddled together and she used the shielding power of her staff to keep the trio safe. A wave of extreme heat passed through the area followed by the falling of stone and dirt. The cave collapsed all around. There was darkness… and now she was coming to her senses.

It was then that her ears flickered again. Why she'd heard the humming first she couldn't be sure but a sound faded in that became annoying. Soft beeping. She recognized the noise – her staff was incredibly low on energy and she currently had it set up to play a soft tone. She was now hearing that sound. The blue illumination around them began to flicker. She watched until it fizzled out.

With her thumb against Fox's palm and the way she squeezed, he began to stir. His first reaction was to spit out sand. The blast pulverized granite into fine powder. He gave her paw a gentle squeeze in return then, in a weak tone of voice, asked, "Are you hurt?"

"No, baby. I can't move, though. What happened?"

Fox cleared his throat and told her, "You had a sudden bad feeling. We began running back the way we came. The door rolled shut behind us but then it blew off the hinges and you activated your staff shield. Everything around us melted to sludge – enemies and their gear… just everything. It was still quite some ways away but the heat outside the shield bubble began to heat up the on the inside of the bubble. It became hotter than we could stand. Tricky is alive."

"He is?" She smiled inwardly. "I'm glad. I don't sense anything. Kursed and this man, Panther you said… they're gone. Perhaps I cannot feel them for the same reason I couldn't sense Tricky just now… But it's possible they're both dead. Where is Tricky anyways?"

Fox gave her paw a squeeze again. "He's on the other side of me. He's fine; I can feel his heartbeat. Never thought I'd hear myself say this but I'd feel a lot better if he woke up, though."

"I sense something strange," murmured Krystal with a hint of worry in her voice. "It's not Kursed. I felt her cry out in fear then… suddenly nothing. I think she may be in more trouble than we are."

"You sense a _person_?"

"I sense something beyond my comprehension. Much like the thought patterns when we arrived before the Aparoid home world all those years ago." She blinked rapidly in surprise then murmured, "Fox I remember that! I remember standing there with my paws over my chest taken back by its beauty. I remember hearing those thoughts and feeling my heart race. I…" Her tone warmed a bit. "I remember going down there together and fighting them side by side. Just us."

"Sensing this presence brought back your memory of the Aparoid invasion? Could it be that one of them may have survived?"

"No… this is similar enough to jog my memories of us having time together… but equally different. It isn't as technical or as logical minded as an Aparoid. This thought pattern is far more advanced and has _personality_." Her voice trailed off; she focused her mind. A moment passed then she tensed up. "Fox, listen to me. Andross may have done a great deal of research about Sauria but I think he overlooked something vital about this world. OH my _Goddess_."

"Like what?"

"I have a bad feeling about this," she told him. "Woman's intuition mixed with the psychic vibrations I'm receiving. I've told you before, we call those 'Reflections' and the ones I'm sensing are worrying me. I don't think Sauria was exactly the way Andross hypothesized."

"How do you mean?"

"I'm sensing memories from someone," she replied. "Sauria was attacked, Fox. It wasn't anything the Krazoa did… all they managed to do was save the planet by creating a way to keep it together. They did, in fact, terra-form planets in Lylat but once Sauria came apart, they pulled it back together and used the Force Point temples to create a prison that brought the planet together to trap someone or something. They locked this person… this presence away for nearly a million years now."

"Excuse me?" Fox struggled against beams and boulders that encased his body on nearly all sides. "Nothing can live for a million years, Krystal. Besides, it would have escaped when Andross pulled the spell stones from the temples back when we met."

"Not if the being was in hibernation. I think Kursed accidentally woke her up."

"Her? We're talking about a million years, Krystal. That's a long time for something to live or _sleep_ or whatever." When she didn't reply to him, he decided to try a different approach. "Does it have a name or anything? Can you sense that much?"

Krystal also continued to struggle against the cave in. She relaxed in frustration and sighed. "Yes. Her name is _Anezka Vacek_." She swallowed to keep her mouth from drying out then added, "And from everything I'm sensing," she trailed off and lowered her tone somewhat. "I'll be honest, Fox… I'm scared."

* * *

A/N: _I've hardly been able to concentrate this week. My ten year old (Don't have premarital teenage sexual relationships, people! I know from experience because I'm way too young to have a ten year old!) has been sick ALL WEEK and Dimetapp has made him WILDLY hyper. So… let me just tell you… that re-reading this chapter (which I rewrote FOUR TIMES) may not be perfect. It's hard to focus with attention deficit disorder… it's even harder when your ADHD son exacerbates the situation, making it nearly impossible to focus on squat, LMAO. _

_SO! With that said, I did a very short chapter because I wrote everything the chapter needed in condensed form by the fourth re-write. Lol. Action chapters to come VERY SOON! Oh yeah… very soon. Then we'll find out what happened to Panther and Kursed. Don't forget to re-read Reflections of Krystal. Chapter 1 is up, I'll be editing the other ones very soon and when I'm fully finished, I'll post a chapter at the end with commentary and such, which will let people know it's been updated. See you soon!_

_Oh and... some people really LIKE shorter chapters. So was it refreshing or too short or what?_


	18. The Oracle's Warning

A/N: _How's it going, gang? I'm at the recording studio tonight so I finished the last few pages of this chapter while the guys were doing their guitar tracks. If you have a FaceBook page, go ahead and become friends with the band - "Hero Of The Hour". It's one of my side projects. Just something fun for me to drum to, you know? Anyhow, I have a lot planned for chapter 19 so... this chapter will build up to that. For anyone who remembers New Generation, this chapter title will make sense to you. Okay everyone, thanks for reading!_

* * *

Chapter -18-  
"The Oracle's Warning"

**Marcus kept his paws up to deflect the bitter wind.** Behind him, Fara Phoenix had her face buried between his shoulder blades. With her face and paws against his back, she was able to stave off the bitter chill. They would switch places soon; it was part of her group survival technique training on Fichina many years ago. The snow was so compacted it held their weight. The two foxes sunk only a few inches into the white surface with each footfall.

"We don't have much longer," he called back to her. He lifted Kursed's staff and activated the shield bubble again. An incoming blast of ice shards bounced harmlessly off the energy field. Once the wind calmed back to a manageable gale he lowered the shield and they began walking again. Several more minutes passed and Fara gave him a tap on the shoulder and thought in her mind that she was ready to switch places again by taking point. Marcus shook his head vehemently. "We're almost there, I'll be okay."

The fox and his vixen continued to trudge through the intense cold. Another hundred meters ahead, they came across a deep hole. Marcus' eyes widened, sensing two people below them. "This is it, Fara! It isn't mom or dad but it's someone in need of help; neither is conscious." He withdrew his blaster and began widening the hole on the west side.

Fara came out from behind him and used her blaster to help him widen the opening on one side. Together they worked diligently until there was a slope. The two pilots made their way down to stay out of the wind. They arrived at the two people snuggled together for body warmth; Marcus recognized Panther and a blue-furred vixen that resembled a young version of his own mother. His stomach dropped, seeing them embracing one another. He prayed there was no romance between the couple.

The fennec looked to him, noting his expression. She glanced back at the two people half-burried in the snow. She lowered her eyes to a bio-scanner then looked back to Marcus. "You know, I'm _really_ torn over this. This is Kursed… if we let her live, she'll probably try to kill us later. And Panther Caruso… I've never met him but I hear he's a lot of trouble. As much as I want to believe the Creator dropped them here to die… I can't let two people freeze to death. We should probably move them somewhere safe."

Marcus knelt down and took Kursed's muzzle into his hand. Her face was frigid and yet her breath was warm. He recalled back to when she died in his arms last year on Fichina. He shuddered. "It was as cold as this when she died last time," he explained with a sigh. "But she looks younger now. It's… weird. She looks like mom did before I was born."

"Make a decision soon because I don't want to join'em out here in the snow, Marcus. In my opinion, we should get'em somewhere safe."

"This _is_ the safest place," said McCloud. "Well, it was… they were staying out of the wind. It's twenty degrees warmer under the snow. Where the heck would we go?"

"We've got to try," Fara reasoned.

He swallowed then nodded. "No you're right, Fara. We can't leave them to die. If the Creator wanted them dead we wouldn't have found them. I saw a cave to the north and it had a blaster plate above the opening."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He grinned at Phoenix and said, "It means I have the key right here." He lifted the staff then put it into his harness. "It didn't look too far. Let's move them there and figure out what our next move is." He slid his arms around Panther's waist, prying the muscular man away from his mother's doppelganger. "Damn, deadweight is no joke." He began to drag Panther up the slope they made with the pistols minutes prior. The slope had already hardened up from the chill.

Fara knelt to one knee and plucked Kursed from the snow then shouldered the lithe woman. "She's a pretty girl… I see why Fox married your mother." She stood up slowly and made her way up the slope more easily than Marcus. The two pilots headed north. Marcus got down into a squatting position and, with Fara's help, they managed to get Panther up onto his shoulders.

The half-mile hike towards the nearest mountain was treacherous. It felt like hiking more than five solid miles because of the elements and the extra weight. Marcus used his staff's fire blaster option and activated a plate in the granite siding. A door rolled up causing the recently fallen snow to tumble inwards. They moved downwards into the opening and laughed in spite of themselves.

There, inside the cavern was two speeder bikes used by Sharpclaw guards. Panther and Kursed were laid out while Fara inspected the bikes. She gave Marcus a thumbs up gesture then said, "They're fueled up and ready to go. They appear to be maintained but… we should wait until the wind dies down. There's a gentler warm front coming through within the next six hours according to the weatherboard. Who used these bikes anyhow?"

"Sharpclaw tribes used them. Andross provided Scales with lots of technology. Later, when Corneria put a few colonies on the planet, a lot of the dinosaurs started going to school and learning how to cope and utilize modern tech. The question should be… where are the owners of these bikes?"

"I saw a tree out in the snow. Leave these two here. Let's go cut a few limbs off and start a fire." Fara withdrew her blaster and motioned for him to follow. "Did you notice that she's wearing a man's jacket? …It looks to be Caruso's size. And you probably noticed he's wearing business casual clothing. Trust me, I know outfits… that jacket goes with what he's wearing."

"I noticed." Marcus sighed. "I'm worried those two might have become an item or something."

"You don't like the thought of your mother, in _any_ form, being with someone like him?" She grinned. "I understand, sweetiefox, but he _did_ keep her alive. Trust me, a little frame like hers… she'd have frozen out here if she was alone. He undoubtedly saved her life having his arms around her the way we found them."

"Yeah." Marcus nodded slowly. "Why is she alive? That's the million-credit question. The fact she was resurrected is just… sick and twisted." They left the cavern and crawled up into the snow. "You know this rollup door goes pretty far down into the snow… it had to be some friggin' avalanche to cause _this much_ snow in the valley. Where's the tree?"

"Over here," said Fara, covering her face with a paw. "Let's hurry. We'll just cut off as much as we can carry and use it to start a fire. I've crossed paths with that woman before. She's not your regular enemy. I'm not sure how you beat her last year but… she's impressive in combat - she absolutely trounced my best trainee on Eladard."

He nodded in understanding. "Yeah… I can sense her movements the way she can sense yours in a fight. She's from Cerinia so we cancel each other out in a sparring ring, in a matter of speaking. It wouldn't be pretty." Marcus fought the desire to lick his lips, knowing it would cause them to chap. "There's something else I sense… it's another person… but they're a little too far for me to know if they're out there in the snow or if it's someone else. I don't sense panic or danger but… yeah… I don't know if we're alone out here. I know my parents are still out there somewhere but… they're beyond my range."

"What are you feeling? This other presence, I mean."

"I think it's a woman," said Marcus, beginning to shoot off limbs of the nearby tree that was half-burried in the snow. "I can't sense anything about her… I'm not close enough. All I can tell you is that it's a woman and she has a name. Anezka. She's somewhere on Sauria and far away… possibly further than my parents. I'm not sure why I can even pick up anything at all… It's bizarre. I wish I understood my abilities better."

Fara began cutting off limbs with her blaster. "Don't worry about it. For now let's start a fire then we'll zero in on your mother and father. I'm a little disappointed to find these two out here, though. I don't want to fight that chick."

"I know, I know. I don't want to fight her anymore, either. But I've grown up a lot since last year. If she starts trouble, I'll be ready for her." He began gathering limbs into his arms. Fara did the same and they tucked their faces into the frozen wood to duck the arctic wind. Once they were back in the cavern, Marcus closed the rolling door and helped Fara to construct a fire.

* * *

**"Fox?"**

"I'm here," said McCloud, giving his wife's paw a gentle squeeze. "You okay over there? I still can't get free. I think there must be a lot of weight up there. Tricky is still unconscious. I hope he's not hurt or anything."

"Marcus is here," she said in dulcet tones. "He has help. They're preoccupied. They've found Kursed and someone else… the one you were jealous over… both are unconscious. I can hear his thoughts but he _can't_ hear mine… it's peculiar. The weird thing is... last time we really had a chance to really talk his abilities were far above my own."

"You're getting things back from your amnesia, hon. You've probably exceeded him in range by now… or however that sort of thing works. Krys, _you_ were supposed to teach _him_ everything you know. You'll get it all back, eventually. I'm just glad we weren't completely crushed in here. I feel bad for Tricky because he's large and is probably pinned badly. I'm kinda' worried about the lil' guy… not that he's so very little anymore but… yeah."

Her thoughts and fears returned back to Marcus. "Fox, he senses Anezka now. When he realizes who she is, he'll be terrified."

McCloud sighed, trying to wiggle again but he couldn't move. He knew she was worried about her son but he wanted to redirect her thoughts. "God we need to get out of here. Even if we were trapped inside of an empty room it would be better than this. At least then we would be able to use the bathroom. How're you holding up over there?"

"Luckier than you, love. I don't have to go yet." She gave his paw a squeeze, still able to touch his fingers through the twisted wreckage around them. "I feel like I'm well rested enough, now, that I can attempt utilizing Dahn Daju to free myself. However, there's always the possibility that it could cause more harm than good if things shift the wrong way."

"I remember when you showed me that for the first time. We were in the Lunarstone Hotel back in the old Capital." He lowered his tone, reflecting on the fact that the old Capital City was now just a crater. "I can't believe all of it is gone, now." A slight cough then Fox reverted to the prior topic and continued speaking. "We sparred one another and you showed me just how amazing that ability really is."

Krystal paused to ponder the memory then smiled to herself. "Yes, I wore your jersey for a little while then gave it back to you. It had Cornerian numbers on the front. Seventy-three I think but I can't be sure. I remember that…" She trailed off then grinned. "I remember a few days later on the Meteo Theme Park, when I kissed you as an incentive to help you with the pain in your dislocated shoulder."

Fox ran his thumb over the top of her knuckles. "It was our first kiss. I'm glad you've remembered that. It sounds to me like you're only remembering our finest moments. I've yet to hear you recall a rocky memory or bring up an argument."

"I don't recall a single one," she replied. "And yes… that was our first kiss. First on the cheek then on the lips. You didn't kiss me back until after the Aparoid Invasion. But boy was it worth the wait."

"I'm glad you liked it," said Fox sounding somewhat coy. He cleared his throat and chuckled. "You always manage to make me smile even in the craziest of times, like now. I like that you've not been able to remember things that bothered you in the past, I mean… don't get me wrong; it's just really great to know that all your memories have been good ones."

She tried to worm around against the pressure of the debris that encased her lithe body. "Should I try to get out of here? I don't know what good it would do but… it's worth a shot if you think it might make a difference."

"Let's keep it as a last resort for right now. I don't want to cause anyone to get squished further."

"You're right, Fox," she murmured. "When Marcus is just a _little_ closer I'll be able to try and summon him. Although, honestly, I'm the reason he's here. Somehow he heard me from across Lylat during the cave in… It's fresh on his mind, I can see that he somehow heard me... I thought we were going to die to be honest… He sensed my distress and that's what brought him to Sauria… I don't know how he'll be able to help us. We're buried over five stories beneath the ground… I don't even recall just how far we'd gone…"

"It would take an entire excavation team," said Fox in agreement. "I hope he hurries though." His voice lowered. "I've _really_ got to pee."

* * *

**The Krazoan bedrock began to shift** and at the center of the heated crater a being of immense power began to stir. She shifted her hands, feeling the dirt sift through her fingertips. There was darkness and rubble all around her body. She clenched her teeth together in the gritty sand and slowly sat up. The ground all around her was like fine powder, pulverized by the two-megaton detonation.

The hollow chasm surrounded the woman and glowing crevices dimly illuminated the room with magma iridescence. Her hands moved to her face, touching the flesh and plating. Her hair was drawn back into dirt-encrusted tentacles. She arose from the fine powdery silt and came to her feet, wobbling at first. She cleared her throat and attempted to speak but her voice was far too hoarse to make a proper sound. Her raucous tones were met with a phlegm-filled crackle. She drew in a long, deep breath and tried to shout to clear her throat but was rewarded only in a strident coarseness. Her vociferous voice, harsh even to her own ears, began to overpower the sand in her mouth as saliva formed in her cheeks. She managed to stumble through the fine dirt towards a thin red sliver in the rock at the far section of the cavern. The magma streak warmed the air, which felt good on her cheeks.

Anezka Vacek dropped to one knee, wavering from the inability to stand. Her muscles ached and her stiff joints begged for relief. She touched her face again then ran her dirt-encrusted fingers back through the long cord-like extensions of hair behind her head. They were still sectioned off with metal rings to make them look like Krazoan tentacles. She clinched the hair in her fists and tensed her body. Her heart ached at the memories and the emotions of feeling forsaken. She recalled her Krazoan father and the anthro female that birthed her. Her memories turned to her mother leaving the planet to go to the newly terra-formed colony on the fourth planet from the central star. Her eyes closed and she growled softly, remembering her dislike for the new anthro species that had come to Lylat. Her dislike for her mother's kind boiled up inside of her.

Anezka moved to the far wall and felt her way around the edge of the underground crater. She ran her hands down over her body then carefully made her way through the dim cavern. At the other end, the dirt was softer and melted into a collapsed tunnel made by modern tools. With renewed motivation, her fingers clawed at the softened, warm dirt with ease. Before long she made her way into the recently mined tunnel. It opened up somewhat and headed upwards towards the surface. She sniffed at the air then ground her teeth together. Her gaze narrowed in frustration… anthro beings. Despite the radiation in the air and the smell of sulfur and charred clay, she could smell the scent of _fur_. It had been through this tunnel recently.

Her movements were mechanical. Her body ached but moved forward with purpose. She glanced back through the darkness in the direction from what she'd come then her head swiveled forth once more. The lumbering steps resumed. She'd never experienced joint ache before. She was a hybrid but still part of a perfect race. Why was her body giving her such grief? What caused such physical misery? She could only assume it was the mortal half of her genetic makeup. The Krazoan ached dreadfully in the places where she was least like her father… the tail, the perched ears, her ankles and even her facial structure… she hated these imperfections. Even more, she hated her father for taking his DNA and placing it into the womb of an anthro female surrogate.

Her mind continued to reply over the drama she'd caused her people and the genetic alterations she'd done to herself in an attempt to purge her body of such mortal impurities. The thoughts raced and she continued to trudge through the tunnel. Anezka pushed herself without fail, unquestioningly fighting for every step.

The tunnel caved in up ahead, barred by still-glowing molten rock but the tunnel split, pointing her towards a cavern of eroding concrete. She'd already walked several miles through the darkness but the hybrid creature found herself face to face with crumbling concrete lining. It came to a head with a weakened wall at a dead end. She pushed through it and into a half-collapsed temple. Her face contorted to show confusion. The self-cleaning walls were designed to last forever… or so she'd thought. Anezka ran her fingers over the textured surface with a frown. Time had apparently eroded the temple walls down to their titanium dioxide concrete layers.

Within the temple ruins, she pushed her way through the wreckage. It appeared to her that there was a recent cave in. At seven feet tall, she was one of the shorter members of her father's race. She was nothing short of powerful, however. Anezka forced twisted wreckage aside and bent girders that stood in her way. Made of metals that were designed to withstand elements forever, she willed them to bend to allow her passage. The photo-catalytic cement walls were still white from the immense concentration of titanium dioxide but she'd never seem them in such an advanced stage of deterioration before.

Sunlight filtered in through a crack that was high above. She stepped into the light of the Lylat Star and gazed up at a hint of blue in the sky. The woman craned her head, able to make out orange and purple in the distance… was it sunrise or sunset? She couldn't be sure. Her gaze returned to the walls and twisted wreckage… she wasn't sure but she thought she recognized the layout of the temple's lowest floor… but the walls looked nothing like they should.

Her ears perked. She heard talking in the distance but the sound was muffled from the wreckage between her and the vocal tones. She climbed atop of the concrete blocks and occasional metal beams that were coated in a special alloy allowing for it to last as long as it had thus far. Hunched down, Anezka crawled along the rubble, with her back nearly grazing the ceiling. Before long she could tell that she was amazingly close…

* * *

**"What's wrong?" **Fox felt her pulse racing from where his fingers met her wrist. They were locked together in the wreckage of the deepest floor inside the temple and unable to make direct eye contact. The husband and wife never released one another's paw.

"She's here," said Krystal softly. "She's filled with such energy it's difficult to think clearly. God, she's here Fox. We can't do _anything_."

Just then a great deal of wreckage was plucked from above the vulpine couple and thrown aside. Another clump of bricks and concrete debris was pulled off of their bodies… In a matter of minutes, Fox and Krystal were looking up at a tall woman with a face of flesh and bone-like plating. Both recognized her facial structure as very familiar. Save for the slight elongation of her jaw and the ears upon the top of her head, she clearly resembled the many Krazoan statues that dotted Sauria.

The tall woman glared down at them both, narrowed her eyes then stood up and abandoned them. The silent creature began climbing up through a collapsed section in the ceiling that led to the surface through a hole in the side of the temple walling far above. Once topside, she turned southeast and left.

McCloud sighed in relief then turned to Krystal. "Was that her? If you ask me, she did us a favor by lifting most of that crap. I can wiggle – I think I can get out pretty easily."

"Fox," Krystal trailed off momentarily then murmured, "She was _disgusted_ to see us. It would be akin to finding out you were related to Andross in the worst, most grotesque way imaginable – that _he_ was your parent. That is the kind of 'disgust' I sensed from her."

"Krys, did you see her face? The tendrils behind her head?"

"I think those were locks of hair. They were bound in ceremonial rings to keep them shaped that way, Love."

"But… Krystal, I think… I think she's a Krazoa. I thought those people died out a million years ago? But did you see the ears and the furred tail? The Krazoa statues I saw didn't have those features."

"Clearly we don't understand who or what she is. All I know at this point is her name is Anezka Vacek." Krystal pronounced the name, "Ah-nez-kah" with a short 'e' and "Vay-sick" with a long 'a'.

"What language does she speak?" Fox wrestled with the remaining debris lying across his body. In a short time he managed to wiggle free and quickly began working to un-trap his wife, fueled on a newfound motivation.

"It's…" Krystal shoved at the remaining pieces of wreckage that had her pinned down. With her husband's help she was free in a matter of minutes. "Fox, it's eerily similar to Cornerian. She speaks more than one language – the other is a deeply evolved version of what Tricky speaks to his people. Would she _need_ to speak two languages for any reason? Needless to say, part of what she can speak is a variation of Cornerian but the vocabulary seemed somewhat different – she speaks it with a flourish, in a sense. I heard her thoughts and I heard words in her head, Fox. I understood them… it sounded like your language with an accent spoken with some words I've not yet heard aloud before. Archaic vocabulary, no doubt. Grammatical qualities differ – I think she speaks certain phrasings out of order."

"This is getting more bizarre by the minute," murmured McCloud as he helped her to her feet. Together, the couple turned to Tricky and dug at the bricks and chunks of debris that surrounded the dinosaur. "I wonder how old that woman is, why she's awake and what the hell is going on."

"I somehow think it's related to that blast from earlier… the one that caused the temple to half-collapsed in on itself." She heaved another piece aside and said, "I can't determine if the blast came from her or from something else that may have somehow awoken her."

Fox nodded in understanding. "This is all getting too weird. I felt my eyebrows singed, even beneath all the debris. It's a wonder that woman wasn't cooked to death. Let's see if we can catch up with her and find out what's going on… besides I want to thank her for making it possible to escape," he said, digging out around the dinosaur with nothing but his paws. "I'd give anything to have an Etch-a-Sketch right now."

Krystal closed her fists around alloy-coated rebar and shifted a broken pillar away from Tricky's body. "Why?"

Fox ran his fingers over another piece of rebar and lifted his fingers towards her. There was an orangish powder on his fingertips. "This is rust. If I had an Etch-a-Sketch I could make thermite then detonate it with the magnesium in my flash grenades. Once you burn the stuff, it'll eat through anything including the pillar that's lying across Tricky's hip. But I don't have what I'd need to finish the formula – aluminum shavings." He brushed his paws off then patted his pants. "Let's just get this big guy out and topside." He lifted his head, looking up through the hole in the multiple ceilings. "It looks as though it's going to be quite an evening… the sky is all sorts of colors." He glanced back down and began working to free Tricky again.

Krystal knelt besides Tricky's exposed face and placed her palms gently upon either side of his head. She closed her eyes while Fox watched on. After a short period, the King Earthwalker opened his eyes and grunted in displeasure, looking around at the wreckage. He gazed up at the two and murmured, "I've never seen a temple collapse before. I thought they were built to withstand anything."

Turning away from the others, Fox pushed his sleeve up and began tapping on his computerized gauntlet. After a moment he told them, "The heat that must have passed through here was incredible. To the point where… if we weren't inside of this temple, we would have died. Whatever the Krazoa race used on their walls, it absorbed most of the energy from the blast. But looking at these readings, we still _should_ be dead."

A grunt, a groan then a growl – Tricky forced himself to his feet, causing the heavy debris to shift and slide off of his back. He stood up and stepped out of the heap then huffed in relief. "Geeze. Okay, so… if your scanner says we should have died… why didn't we? Was it because of the blue bubble?"

Fox tilted his head. "Blue bubble? I just remember shielding my face from the flash and heat. You saw a blue bubble?"

"It was very easy to see against the white background. Everything was white outside of the bubble. So yeah, it was _really_ obvious. It was, like, rippling and stuff all around us."

"Undulating?" asked Krystal. "The bubble was shimmering with wavy lines?"

"Exactly!"

She frowned at the dinosaur. "I'm afraid, like Fox, I don't recall seeing it."

"You don't remember?" asked Tricky. "Uh, Krystal, you had your paws on it and looked like one of those Cornerian mime guys that sometimes do the invisible wall gag at some of the colony towns. But the wall was blue and it wrapped around us for a few seconds. You honestly don't remember seeing it?"

"I'm afraid I don't." She looked down, shrugged and thought about the events leading up to the temple collapse. "No… nothing. I remember waking up in pain, exhausted, with Fox holding my paw through a gap in the debris." She lifted a finger, gesturing for them to wait briefly. With her other paw she removed her staff from her harness and activated the shield. "Did it look like this?"

"Very similar but it was wavy… maybe from deflecting stuff on the outside. It was a lot bigger than _that_ shield, though. It surrounded _all_ of us."

Fox brought his fist to his lips, tucking his thumb beneath his chin in thought. "Maybe…" he trailed off and turned to his wife. "Maybe you activated the shield in your staff and somehow magnified it with your Dahn Daju ability or something?"

"I've never tried that before," she replied softly. "Although it sounds like a plausible theory. The thing is, my staff is still _fully_ charged and its bubble doesn't get very large. A Cornerian field barrier is much larger than what my staff can provide."

Fox rubbed at his lower lip. "Well, Slippy _did_ invent those shield barriers for the Cornerian R and D department based on the technology in that staff's shield generator. They're very similar. Could that Anezka woman have somehow shielded us?"

"No," said Tricky. "I don't know who you're talking about but that shield was _only_ wrapped around the three of us and it wasn't very big. Krystal had her arms outstretched and touched both sides of the bubble."

McCloud's eyes widened. "Wait just a second!" He turned to his wife again and said, "What if you weren't _touching the shield_… what if the shield was emanating _from_ you? What if _you're_ the one who protected us?"

She appeared perplexed by his hypothesis. "I don't recall doing it, and I don't see how it's possible. I can use my abilities to redirect energy back into something, like when an attacker attempts to tackle me they'll be thrown backwards… but an energy bubble capable of deflecting a high intensity thermal blast?"

Her husband lifted his left wrist to a nearby wall. The bricks were nearly gone and in some parts only mortar remained. Fox used the computer on his wrist to scan the remains. He glanced back at Tricky and Krystal. "The computer suggests that a flash lasting somewhere _between_ twenty-eight and thirty-one seconds was recorded to file. Three unsure seconds. That's a huge gap for a computer to guesstimate. Usually computer guesses are in the milliseconds. Anyhow, for these bricks to have sustained this level of advanced erosion, the flash would have to be around ten _million_ degrees, if not slightly more. Think about that, you guys… _over ten million_ degrees. We should have been vaporized."

No one spoke so Fox continued. "Cornerian engineers have been studying these ruins for two decades, now. It's the most advanced structural composition every recorded. These bricks should have been able to stand up against five hundred thousand years of straight sandblasting or intense water blasting… and barely taken a scratch. Whatever the Krazoa used to make cement, it was designed for the ages. It repels plants, pollution, humidity… all that abuse for a million years. And it looked almost new when we got down here. Now it's nearly dust. It's impressive enough that this stuff survived the blast as well as it did… but something even _more powerful _than technologically advanced masonry managed to deflect that blast and protect the three of us. We need to know what has that kind of energy." He reached for his wife and took her left paw, rubbing his thumb over her wedding band. "Krystal, if Tricky saw you holding a bubble in your palms… it's a possibility that _you_ saved our lives somehow."

She opened her mouth to say something but words failed her. After a brief pause she slowly shook her head in denial. "I don't remember. I… I recall fearing for our lives. I remember intense fear. I remember not wanting to die. Then I blacked out and woke up to feeling Marcus growing close. I sensed that he'd somehow heard my fear from all the way across Lylat."

Tricky dropped onto his rump, sitting up like an enormous pet. "You called his name while you were touching the blue bubble from the inside out, Krystal. I heard you. I stayed awake when you fainted. There was a lot of wind and the temple began to collapse. You looked like you were struggling with holding something heavy but all the debris was outside of the bubble. Then you fainted… and the ceiling piled up around the three of us. Next thing I know, you guys are digging me out and talking about some woman."

A nod was offered to Tricky. Fox settled down on a chunk of bricks somewhat more solid than the far wall. "Yeah, Krystal called her Anezka Vacek. She visited us, pulled _some_ of the debris off of us then abruptly left." He gave Krystal's paw another firm squeeze then released it. "You said you don't remember anything during the blast? I actually remember hearing you shout for Marcus at the last second. It all blurs together but… I do remember hearing that part. Like I said, I was shielding my eyes from the flash."

"I don't remember shouting his name," she mused with a frown.

"Then that proves it." Fox smiled at her. "You somehow managed to call for Marcus _and_ generate some sort of shield to protect us. You just don't remember the details because you fainted in the middle of it all… it probably took a lot out of you. If you don't even remember shouting his name in the middle of everything… I mean think about it. Tricky and I heard you say his name and then he appears here on Sauria. The first thing you sense from him when he gets close is that he's looking for you because he telepathically heard your distress… that he… _felt_ your fear or however you describe it… I mean it's obvious that you have abilities beyond what you've realized."

She fidgeted for a moment. "Before I lost my memories had I ever done something like that before?"

"Not to my knowledge."

Tricky cocked his head in confusion. "No she _did_, remember Fox? When you and I were confronted by that Krazoa and he told you that you'd have to rescue Krystal or she would die?" (_SF: Adventures_)

Fox frowned. "Tricky… do you remember that she spoke to us in dinosaur language? Why would Krystal do that? Why not in Cerinian? Why not speak to us in our minds without using _any_ certain language? No, pal, that was Andross using a hologram and sending out that distress to all dinosaur tribes. He was searching for a candidate who was 'pure of heart' to finish the Krazoa tests and bring him the other spirits."

"Really?"

"That's right," said Krystal with a firm nod. "That prism blocked all my telepathic abilities. If I sent out a real psychic distress call you wouldn't have seen anything with your eyes. Especially not a Krazoa asking for you to save me. Andross knew Fox would fall for saving a girl." She turned to her husband and grinned. "Strange as it is to think this way… Andross played matchmaker for us. Only after locking me away did he realize he'd need more than _one_ spirit. He was hasty in capturing me so he puts out a holographic advertisement to have me rescued in order to retrieve more spirits. Ironic how he brought us together."

"Ironic," muttered Fox in a sour voice. "I still hate that guy. I don't _care_ that he built something to save Venom's ecosystem or that he saved lives on Titania with your help, or anything else. He's still an ass."

She pondered his words then shook her head. "I don't recall all the details and, currently, do not have any recollection of working _with_ Andross to save people on Titania. I suppose I've told you about such in the past. But it sounds like fate that something so evil brought us together… two people pure enough for the Krazoa to deem us worthy as vessels of their spirits as rewards for their purity tests. And we have a beautiful, intelligent and wonderful son together. That's… beyond special, Fox. That's a pureness that can't easily be sullied. I think we were fated to be together."

Fox nodded slowly, glanced over at Tricky then looked back to his wife and lowered his voice. "Don't you remember the dreams?" (_Reflections of Fox McCloud, Prologue & Chapter 1_)

She nodded emphatically. "I retained everything up to a very short time before Cerinia's destruction. I remember every time we've met in our dreams. I suppose I was surprised when you didn't recognize me the day we met."

"You physically matured into a woman and my mind was in ten directions at once when we first met. I was emotional over Andross being alive… I just… didn't put it together right away."

She placed her paws on his cheeks. "Fox, relax. I'm not chastising you for failing to recognize me. I didn't recognize you at first, either." She grinned impishly at him and said, "It took me a day or two before I realized it." (_Reflections of Krystal, Chapter 2_ [ReWrite version])

McCloud blushed brightly. "Yes, it took me a great deal longer. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," she said in a near whisper, guiding his lips closer to hers. Their noses touched. Her eyes began to flutter shut and her lips parted in anticipation.

"Get a _cave_, you two." Tricky rolled his eyes. "Or a den or… a room or _whatever_. Geeze. Fox, you used to be _scared_ of girls around, like, _everyone else _in existence. Now you're acting like Don Juan."

McCloud turned red in the face. "Oh will you SHUT UP!" He glowered at Tricky and turned away.

The tribal leader stomped each of his four feet a few times as if to do a little dance. "That's the reaction I expected! And anyway, I'm _not_ a kid anymore. This time _you_ are the one acting like a kid… not minding your company and getting carried away."

Krystal shook her head with an amused chuckle. "Don't start fighting, boys. We'll need to work together…"

"He started it," said Tricky.

"No, you did by telling us to…"

Krystal lifted both of her paws, gesturing them to be quiet. "_I_ started it by trying to kiss _my_ husband of twenty-four and a half years. And here I thought it was a miracle that you'd both been composed for _this_ long. Goodness me." She turned back to Fox, cupped his face and kissed him rather suddenly. It caught him off guard. She then released his muzzle and turned to pat Tricky on the head. "Save the commentary. Let's all get out of here and find Marcus."

* * *

**The fennec leaned forward.** Her nose twitched; she sniffed at the air then shrugged, leaning back on the cushioned seat of the left speeder. "Your jokes are boring – they need a bit of work."

"You've got better ones?" asked Marcus with a quick glance back at Panther and Kursed's unconscious bodies. "I'm all ears. I won't even sense your punch line and ruin the delivery this time."

Fara smirked. "Yeah, that does get annoying sometimes. Okay, so a guy is at a bar and he's minding his own business. Then he hears '_Your hair looks great today, sir!_' but the bar tender hadn't said a word and the bar is practically empty."

Marcus crossed his arms, stealing another glance at Panther and Kursed. "Yeah? Go on."

"He asks, '_Pardon?_' and looks about. Then another voice says to the patron, '_I love your jacket, is that a designer brand_?' Again, the confused man looks around the bar but no one is around and the tender is busy further up the bar. The man shakes his head and frowns. He then hears a third voice. '_Don't frown, you have a fantastic smile!_' Finally the patron leans over the bar and says to the tender, "Do you hear all these voices in here?"

Marcus remained silent, waiting for Fara's punch line to occur. True to his word, he didn't attempt to sense it.

She continued. "The bar tender tilted his head and asked, '_What are they saying?_' The man scratches his head and recited, '_First it said my hair looks great today. Then someone said they loved my jacket, and last but not least, I shouldn't frown because I have a great smile._' The bar tender chuckled and pointed to a bowl of peanuts. The man blinked in confusion and the tender told him, "Our peanuts, sir. They're _complimentary_."

McCloud placed a paw over the front of his face with a low groan. "Okay, I still say my jokes are better. This is taking forever. What if these two don't know anything about what's going on? Maybe we should just leave'em here, take the speeder bikes and find my parents."

"You and your father have good instincts. If that's what you think we should do… then let's go. And you're just upset because my joke was cute and you didn't expect it. Anyhow, follow your gut, babe."

Marcus shifted his weight, perking up on the speeder to Fara's right. "Screw it, let's blow this pop stand." He withdrew his staff, fired an energy round into a panel above the door and watched it roll upwards. He started the speeder's engine and tugged the clutch bar down beneath his fingertips. "Let's head towards the source of that big earthquake that was recorded by the nearest colony. I'll pull up the coordinates on my computer and we'll start searching the area for clues."

The sandy-furred vixen looked to Kursed then towards Panther. "Somehow I doubt we've seen the last of these two."

"I don't need a crystal ball to agree with _that_." He plucked a small computer device from a rectangular inlay set into the harness strap. With his other paw, he returned the staff to the harness on his back. He thumbed the touch screen for a moment then read something on the small display. Marcus pushed the device back into its place on the front of the staff harness strap over his chest then glanced over at Fara. "It's not too terribly far from here. Let's hurry. Unfortunately I can't sense anything. I can barely sense those two on the floor and even though you're sitting here looking at me, it's like you're a mile away."

She fired up her speeder and frowned. "That's odd. Have you ever had trouble with your abilities before?"

"Just when I get emotional or…" he paused to ponder then his eyes widened. "I had a little reception trouble when I was on Corneria the day that Venom hit the city with their stupid bomb. I sure as hell hope that's not what caused that earthquake! We'd better hurry! If they're alive they might be in _serious_ danger." He put the speeder into gear and Fara followed him out of the cavern. He withdrew his staff and fired at the panel above the door as they left. The door rolled back down to protect Panther and Kursed from the elements.

The two speeder bikes moved overtop of the snow at a rapid pace. As they left the valley, the snow began to get lower until flits and specs of dirt and rock zipped by beneath them. The two pilots came parallel to one another and Marcus called over to her against the noise of the wind. "I sense that… Anezka person again. They're… I've never felt anything like this before."

"What is it that you sense?" She called back.

"Whoever they are, they're confused. They don't recognize their surroundings and they want answers to… _something_. I don't see anyone around but us… but I can sense this person about as well as I can sense you. The thing is, the closer we get to the quake's epicenter, the harder it is to read you… but I can still sense that other… person just fine. It doesn't make any sense. It's like… there's interference… like chaff… but I can still tune in on this Anezka character."

"That's really weird but I don't know much about extra sensory perception so I'm afraid I don't have much to offer. I just hope you sense your parents or vice versa. The sooner the better. I'm worried about them and I imagine you're absolutely anxious." She moved the speeder a little closer to him and leaned in to say, "But you're doing well, sweetheart. You've still got your abilities so you're doing a great job of keeping your emotions in check. I'm proud of you for keeping your focus."

"I have you to help me," he told her with a smile. "I'm feeding off of your nearness because you have a very controlled mind and calm heart." He trailed off then announced, "That Anezka person has found a very rapid mode of transportation. They're a lot further away suddenly." He could hear Fara's next question before she spoke it and he took his paw off of the handle bars to gesture. "No, it's not the type of 'reception interference' that I'm experiencing with you, Fara… I sense this other person has gone to the Krazoa Palace to find answers. They're quite a ways from here but I can tell that they covered a vast distance very rapidly… and now they're there."

"And even though I can touch you…" She carefully reached out and, keeping her speeder level, took his paw. "You're finding it harder and harder to read me?"

"The psychic vibrations that mom calls "reflections" are very dull right now," he explained. "It's like the difference between holding a snowball in your bare palm and wearing quality gloves. You can still feel the snowball in your palm and you can squeeze it, knowing it's densely compacted… but the sensation of cold is no longer there. You've just eliminated half of the sensory information that was going to your brain… you don't feel the cold anymore. You don't feel the texture against your fingertips. You don't feel the wetness under your fingernails. All you know is that you've got a round compacted ball in your grip, now."

"Are we flying blind, here? Could this be some sort of trap?"

"Maybe," he said, releasing her paw and putting some measure of safe distance between their speeders. "It'd be easier to try and hit a rodent with a hammer in a dark room than to try and sense hostile intent."

Phoenix smirked. "Nibbles is the only rodent I know of; analogy aside, I'd refrain from chasing it with a hammer – dark or not. Vivian would have a fit."

"No truer words have been spoken," said McCloud with a chuckle. "I hope we're not flying into a trap, though. I'd feel guilty if my instincts wound up as bad as my telepathy right when I need it the most."

"Just keep your nose dry," she told him with a wan smile. "It's all we can do." The snow began to thin out until they were sailing over plain granite rocks. Before long the land was dotted with vegetation. As they continued, the plant life became thicker. Then, all at once, they were assaulted by the pungent scent of charred wood. Fara sniffed at the air. "That smell reminds me of when I was a little girl. My family had a cabin in the woods and we'd go there every so often to get away for a while. Dad would put a log in the fireplace. It smelled like this… but not nearly as strong."

The vegetation became so dense that they were forced to slow their speeders. However, the scent of burning wood became overpoweringly close. Some trees were pushed into diagonal positions and as they continued along, both noticed that more and more trees were tilted. The forest began to thin out. Some trees were nearly horizontal with their roots sticking up out of the ground. Up ahead, the jungle thinned out and became a mixture of charred remains.

It was immediately obvious that whatever happened here recently caused the forest to resemble a blast crater. Before long the area resembled a clearing. Up in the distance, a crumbling temple stood five stories on several sides but looked semi-demolished. Marcus increased his speed and Fara kept up.

As they neared the temple, both slowed their bikes. Marcus looked from left to right while Fara perked her ears and gazed downwards. She gasped in surprise and called to him. The fennec came to a stop and slid off her bike but left it running. She knelt down in the dust and dirt. He joined her seconds later. "What did you find, Fara?" He lowered to one knee besides her and furrowed his brows. "Foot prints." Marcus stood and began to follow them. "Hey, look at this!"

Fara moved back to her feet and approached. She watched the change in prints. "Interesting."

"There are four sets of prints here, then they change to only three sets of prints."

"No, Marcus." She placed a paw on his lower back then reached down and gave his rump a pat. Fara moved by him and stuffed her paws into her pockets. "It's one quadruped and two bipedal prints. Then, here," she nodded her head as she trudged alongside the prints, "One of the biped prints disappears. Most likely your parents left these tracks and they're accompanied by Tricky or another dinosaur helper. At this point, the smaller prints, belonging to your mother, disappear. Probably because she climbs up onto the dinosaur's back. However." She continued to walk, heading back towards the speeders. "They get lighter and lighter because of the shifts in the wind. I can't be sure how old these tracks are… They're not within visual range and you can't sense them… so it's obvious that the prints were made a while ago."

Marcus continued along the path of tracks until he found one that was particularly well preserved in the dust and fine sand. He knelt besides it and smiled somewhat. "I can practically make out the designs in the sole of the shoe. This is the brand name that dad wears. They're not a very popular brand because they're expensive and made for vulpine footpaws. Okay so… three things. One, it's safe to say that they're probably still alive. Two, the dirt beneath the dust is _very, very_ fine… Like it was pulverized to very fine grains of sand. Last but not least, my mother loves to walk. If she's decided to climb aboard a dinosaur, she's either exhausted or injured."

"But we do see her foot prints; the third set we saw back passed the bikes looked about her size. Can you sense _anything at all_?"

"I can barely sense _you_ standing in front of me," he replied. "The only other time that happened to me is when the bomb went off over Corneria's Capital City. I just thought it was because I was so emotional over a run-in with Katt Lombardi and my son, not to mention I got into a fistfight with some Rottweiler. (_Reflections of a New Generation, Chapter 15 through 16_) I was all keyed up after that. Then I rushed down the road and found Katt's ride on the side of the road, stalled out. I freaked but I bottled it… I figured my emotions were clouding everything but… yeah. This is how I felt. I couldn't sense people standing face to face with me."

"This place looks like it was vaporized." She stood up again and looked around. "At least a half of a mile in every direction is just… wasteland." She turned back to the temple nearby and frowned. "I thought the temples of Sauria were supposed to have been built to withstand almost all natural forces for a great deal of time?"

"Scientists say they'll last longer than some natural mountains and that they're older than some canyons." Marcus turned his attention to the crumbling structure. "It looks like it's been bombed but there are no craters in the area. Well, we know mom and dad came from this place because the footprints lead away from it… but it's our best clue so far… let's go check it out."

Fara re-approached her bike and shut down the engine. "I'm curious: what could have caused this temple to look like _this_? It needs to be condemned. It's even collapsed in places." She retrieved a scanning device and strengthened her inner resolve. "Let's explore the area." The two made their way up the side of the ruins and looked out over the valley. The fennec's ears lowered, nearly touching her shoulders. "…Wow." She let out a low whistle, seeing the swollen valley floor beyond the temple grounds. For over half a mile beyond the temple, the granite had lifted in a horizontal convex bulge. "What in Lylat could have caused that?"

Marcus withdrew the mobile computer device from the pocket built in the front of his harness strap. He used his fingers to manipulate the touch screen then turned it sideways and used his thumbs to type on it. "An underground blast. This area is solid granite with clay and dirt on top. It used to be a lush jungle and now look at it… not a tree for three quarters of a mile in every direction."

"It smells like charred wood," murmured the fennec. "But I don't see anything but ashes and fine sand."

He tightened his jaw. "Yeah. Fine sand… like the dirt and rocks were pulverized to powder or something. There must have been an underground explosion, which would explain why the temple suddenly looks like it was nearly incinerated. The footprints lead up the stairs to the temple… my parents must have come through here."

Fara scanned for life forms. "There was recently a high concentration of radiation in this area but it has a surprisingly fantastic half life. We should be safe so long as we don't raise a family here at the epicenter… or, should I say… at _ground zero_. Anyhow, we can safely assume your folks are alive but… because of the residual radiation, I can't scan for anything beyond two hundred meters. It gets distorted readings."

Marcus turned about and saw two small clouds of dust in the distance. "Someone is coming this way on speeder bikes like ours. I can't sense them from here but…"

Fara turned around to see for herself and frowned. She put her scanner away and withdrew high power binoculars from her gear. After a moment, she passed them to Marcus. "Our new friends. Kursed and Panther made pretty good time and for them to have found us… well, either she has a more powerful focus ability or she's coming to survey her handiwork. I wouldn't put it passed her to be the one who caused all of this mess."

"Yeah." He watched the approach through the rectangular optical device. "I liked her more when she wasn't moving. This could be bad. Didn't you come face to face with her during one of your missions with Asper on Eladard?"

A frown marred her face. "Marcus… that was classified. I guess it's hard to keep secrets from you, huh? Sarnoff said that she met him and scanned him and cleared him. He said she even recommended him to be Dash's _personal bodyguard_. So, she's either using him… or she, like your mother, had a serious bout with amnesia."

"Could be both," said Marcus with a shrug of indifference. He handed Fara her binoculars and folded his arms. "Time to find out what's going on, here. My gut tells me that she's the one with all the answers, here."

* * *

A/N: _Hey gang. So I finally have some direction in my story. I have good guys, bad guys and gray-area guys. We KNOW who the good guys are, but it's hard to be sure who is who for the other team. Perhaps that is because they, themselves, do not yet know their own roles in things. We know that Kursed is going to try and get Marcus alone to better persuade him and she wants Panther to get lost for a while, as well as Fara, so that she has no distraction while talking to our young hero. _

_I actually have some cool plans for Fara and Panther. Both are very intelligent, capable and worthy fighters, even if Panther is typically an annoying flirt. I was thinking those two could scout the area and come across some of the Venom soldiers. However, these soldiers are acting incredibly strange and attack Panther, when they're SUPPOSED to only go after KNOWN Star Fox members. Needless to say, I was thinking it would be a lot of fun to see some of the better fighters in this story get into a gun battle and see how they handle getting pinned down by trained enemy soldiers or some such. I also wanted to explore a short-term face off between Krystal and Kursed before Anezka comes along. I hate to replace Kursed as the lead antagonist already but… I have plans for her and exploring her good AND dark sides makes her more than just some lead enemy. So Anezka will get that job. _

_And what about Andross on Titania? Will curiosity of a live half-breed Krazoa bring him around? Not sure yet. Gotta give it some thought, since he's winding down and not playing a major role in this story. Finally, where are Krystal and Fox going? Are they tracking Anezka? Probably. We'll see, huh? Okay that's all for now! Take care!_


	19. A Reflection in the Mirror

A/N: _If you've not heard, I now have an official "Kit Karamak" FaceBook. Become a fan today if you want! I'd greatly appreciate it! Not only that, I keep it up to date with all sorts of silly stuff. I'll talk about when I update stuff, Fan Fiction, original stories, etc. I hope to see you there!

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Chapter -19-  
"A Reflection in the Mirror"

**A grunt emanated from the fennec's lips.** She looked back up through the skylight and lifted her paws. A knapsack full of gear fell into her arms followed by the stocky figure of an onyx-furred feline adjacent to her. Panther straightened the lay of his jacket and retrieved his gear from the fennec with a nod.

"Why do you trust her?" asked Fara. She withdrew her scanner and glanced at the screen but with interference in the area reception didn't exist. Panther didn't answer her question. Fara gritted her teeth, turned to Caruso then shoved him up against the wall. "I was face to face with this chick back on Eladard. Suddenly she shows up here with you and, for some reason, Marcus senses that she's being honest. So what's _your_ story?"

The feline's vibrant eyes lowered to Fara. He wasn't used to being shoved around by such a small woman. "I never got over Krystal, _okay_? Why does it matter? You heard her – there are Venom spies here. You and I are the best suited to dispatch them in order to protect Kursed and Marcus. It's pathetic that I have to help protect your silly, worthless beau."

The fennec's lengthy ears lowered from either side of her head, nearly touching her shoulders. Her whiskers drew back, lying along her elongated muzzle. Her dilated pupils shrunk to vertical slits. "Let's look at two facts, Mister Caruso… one, my mate is a telepath. If you were to attack him he would easily evade your every move, wear you down, determine your weaknesses then _break you_ in _half_. He's already done it to her and she remembers that – I saw it in her eyes when he brought up the last time he beat her. _Two_, she's not telling you the whole story either. She's lying about something. Marcus may _sense_ she's telling him all the right stuff but his _instincts_ keep him from believing her. I see it in _his_ eyes – he doesn't believe her but he's willing to try because she's enticing. She's promising him to restart his race. So _what's in this for you_?"

"I have no chance with Krystal McCloud," he said, pushing away from the wall. To his surprise, Fara brought her paw to one of his pressure points and slammed him back up against the ancient concrete. He leered at her in surprise. However, she had him at the neck, bringing immense pain to his body with a mere pinch in the right place with her left paw. Panther even found it hard to breathe. He slowly sucked in air then murmured, "She's a bit young looking for my taste anymore… but she's the closest I'll ever come to resuming a relationship with Krystal. Don't you see what she's trying to do yet? She's the best hope for stopping this war with Venom."

Fara placed her right forearm against his throat, pushing on his Adam's apple. She kept her left thumb and forefinger at his neck while pushing her pinky and ring finger down into his shoulder just above his collarbone to create pain. Her other paw withdrew a combat knife from her boot sheath then she placed the serrated side of the blade against his crotch. "Listen here, womanizer… I don't have time for games. She managed to talk Marcus into sending _both of us_ down here because she wanted to get him _alone_. I'm not the jealous type but _you are_ from what I understand. So… she's up there with him all alone and they sent us down here to fight incoming Venom soldiers. I'm a professional so when I say I want answers… it's because I need information to make informed decisions."

"She's his mother's doppelganger," growled Panther. He was beginning to _really dislike_ being pinned by such a small opponent. "No matter how you look at it, her DNA matches that of his mother… they're related; why would I be jealous?"

"She didn't birth him and she looks his age," Fara reminded. "She said she wants to clone herself and a male Cerinian. If those two were to have a litter, the males would give her _nearly_ pure Cerinian DNA samples. She's cunning and shrewd. If this grand idea is now her big legacy it would make _sense_ for her to mate with him _not you_. So _be_ jealous."

Caruso swallowed then looked away with a huff. "Nonsense."

"Her _race is gone_. She wants to restart it. That means she's desperate to make things work. She'll go to any level to succeed. What isn't she telling us?" Fara ground the knife against his crotch and whispered, "Or am I going to have to get hostile with you? I _know_ you work for Star Wolf. I also know that they're employed to protect Dash Bowman." Fara knew if she could trick Panther into getting jealous, he might be willing to give her more information.

"It's a bum gig," said Panther through clinched teeth. "We accepted the job to spy on Venom. If they attack Corneria it will hurt business and Wolf doesn't want that. Also, she's the new Empress of Venom as of today. THAT is why she can avoid the war, woman. She'll take over Venom then turn the lizards into the guardians of the new Cerinia Colony. She doesn't care about Dash or his desire for conquest."

"Is that so?"

Unbeknownst to him, Caruso continued to speak the words that Kursed fed into his mind from a distance. "She's using the research of Andross Oikonny to manipulate the genome. Remember when Kursed and I first arrived at the temple, thirty minutes ago? You were standing right there, woman. She told Marcus she needed a sample of his DNA. That's because she wants to clone him and herself. Then she'll use Andross' research to engineer the genome, removing as many Cornerian markers as possible. She'll also re-write the markers that make them related so that the new colony can mate without worries of inbreeding flaws. They'll grow up under her tutelage then become parents and expand the colony. Before long… Cerinians will flourish again. I don't care whether or not you believe me."

"I know Marcus very well. When he looks at you and that woman he has a facial tell… he doesn't trust either of you. He said he 'senses' that you're helping her to do exactly what she told us earlier… she lost her memories and found new purpose. But his _instincts_ are telling him this is crap. She's crap, you're crap and this whole story stinks of disinformation." Fara drew the knife back from between his thighs and said, "She probably wants us to dispatch the Venom lizards in this area so that they don't overhear something and report back to Dash."

"Obviously, fennec. She _just_ gained control over Venom. She doesn't want Dash to find out her ulterior motives are meant for peace." Caruso continued to speak the words that Kursed put into his head from afar. "She already knew that your trainee, Asper Sarnoff, is a _spy_. She sensed all of that. Yet she told Dash that he checks out, that he's trustworthy and that he should make Sarnoff his personal bodyguard. Why? So that Asper is in the proper position to assassinate Dash Bowman when the time comes. Don't be naïve – this is bigger than all of us. The _only_ kink in the plan is the awakening of this Anezka woman."

Fara glared at Panther for a moment then shook her head. "I'm keeping an eye on you, Mister Caruso. What does Kursed need from Marcus right now? DNA sample or not, she sent us both to dispatch a mere half-dozen Venom guards. Where is she taking Marcus?"

Panther sighed. "The antechamber. They're going to use these," he paused and lifted a shield barrier unit. "They've been recalibrated to shield us from residual radiation so that we can join them underground when we've finished taking out the Venom soldiers. She needs Marcus because she wants to prove to him that they're a team… they're the mother and father of Cerinia's future. She probably just wants some time to bond with him to establish trust and rapport."

"This whole thing reeks of missing details." Fara lifted her foot and pushed the knife into her booth sheath. "Listen… just wait here and guard the area. I'll go and take down these guards and come back when the job is done."

"They're Venom elite," said Caruso. "Don't get yourself in trouble by going alone. I'm capable and I won't cramp your style. Furthermore, she's worried about this Anezka creature. She told me that when telepaths get near one another they create a psychic network. The more telepaths in an area… the more powerful the network becomes. She wants to keep Marcus nearby so the two of them can watch for this… Anezka woman. Alone, Marcus and Krystal stand a better chance than people like us; together they stand a far _greater_ chance but _only_ if they _work together_."

"Fine." Fara withdrew her blaster and said, "You'd better _not_ get in my way. I'm a professional and I don't want an amateur to step on my toes; I dance better alone."

"I'm a world class assassin, _young lady_."

Fara glowered. "I'm about to turn fifty-six years old. Have more respect for me."

Panther suddenly looked somewhat lost. He blinked twice then raised a paw to his face and grunted then lowered his ears. Not wanting to look as though he just experienced a head rush, Caruso's brows furrowed. "Ah… so…" He offered her a wan smile. "Is that the new fashion? Women look younger than children suddenly? Kursed, you… So what's _your_ story, morning glory?"

"It's complicated. Follow me." Fara released the super sensitive pressure point on his shoulder then drew her thumb and index finger from his neck. "So now that you have proof Marcus never lied to you about killing Krystal …you're not going to try and start any drama like you did a year ago… are you?"

"Drama?"

"You 'rescued' Vivian Hare to attempt the assassination of Marcus McCloud; she was your bait. Remember? You tried to set up an ambush on Fichina but took pity on him because of his emotional situation."

His dilated pupils appeared to shrink. His body language relaxed and Caruso shook his head as if to shake off dizziness. He glanced around the area then turned to Fara and pondered her statement as though he heard it late. The feline retrieved his blaster and walked away from Phoenix to shudder without her seeing the expression. "Young McCloud created the drama. Panther does not like seeing a grown man pout. Let's sniff out the Venom soldiers so that we can join the Cerinian couple down in the underground crater. Kursed may need our help down there. Panther Caruso does _not_ care whether or not you believe him or her. Follow Panther, no? There is but one goal here… to protect her; everything else is irrelevant."

"Irrelevant my tail," said the fennec, curious about his change in wording patterns – he was suddenly speaking in third person and walking with a swagger again. She sniffed at the air as the two climbed through the debris and made their way down to the next sub-floor. She also wondered what Marcus was up to right now.

* * *

**"This place is enormous."**McCloud peered up at the flashlight beam on the ceiling high above. His youthful eyes returned to Kursed. "Your bomb demolished that nearby temple from the inside out. It lifted the granite bedrock up into the air. We also think it woke up that Anezka woman. What's down here anyhow and was all this crap worth it?"

"Yes." Kursed placed a paw on his shoulder. Their shield barriers overlapped one another from their proximity. "Marcus, every second has been worth it thus far. I had _no idea_ that Anezka even existed. I set off that blast to try and unearth powerful Krazoan technology. I'll need all the help I can get in order to re-colonize Cerinia. I wished to make a path for an excavation team – I had no intention or desire to unearth some freak who threatens me, new Cerinia or anything else for that matter."

"Whatever," Marcus said as the two made their way through the underground chasm. His head lifted, looking up at the ceiling of bedrock far above. "I don't see how an explosion could have woken her up without hurting her."

"She's quite an impressive being," said Kursed. "But you're right… I'm not sure how she survived that blast unless she came from outside of the system and arrived _after_ the underground detonation occurred. By the way, your mate is very impressive. She also did a fantastic job of training Asper Sarnoff. Did you know I elected him to become Dash's personal bodyguard? I knew he was a spy but I did it anyway. _I_ pull the strings around here, Marcus McCloud. Anezka… or whatever her name happens to be… well she's the wildcard in all of this. Right now she went to the Krazoa Palace for answers."

Marcus perked up. "You can sense that she's all the way at the Palace right now?" He was beginning to hate the nearby radiation… He couldn't sense very much and his range was so limited that even Fara and Panther was beyond his abilities. "When you arrived at the temple forty-five minutes ago, you mentioned having recent memory loss… Yet you remember your abilities perfectly?"

"I told you… if you help me I'll eventually tutor you until you're on my level." Kursed licked her lips then sighed. "I understand your mother lost memories too… Whatever happened to cause such things… it happened near Krystal and so she's lost everything back to childhood. I was clear across Lylat so it didn't hit me the same way… I lost everything over the past two decades. I lost everything _after_ the Anglar War concluded. I get clips and phrases or brief mental images from time to time… Recently I remembered that I was very angry, bitter and lethal about a year ago. But I've lost the heartache that made me some sort of twisted demon. Marcus, now I've got a new purpose. I've settled on fulfilling my future legacy… I want to restart the Cerinian species. I need you to help me without questioning all my motives… can't you sense that I'm being pure and truthful, here?"

He looked off to the left and his tail drooped a bit. "Yes, I sense that _you_ apparently believe that you're telling the truth. But I'm not _full_ Cerinian… I trust something else… something besides just my frontal lobe… I trust my instincts. And you know what? My gut says that you're hiding something. If I get to the bottom of it, I'll come down on you hard like a ton of bricks. Just remember _who_ killed _who_ last year."

She nodded, flitting her flashlight around the massive cavern. "You defeated me, Marcus. And you'd sense my betrayal if I sought to deceive you. For once your instincts are wrong. My intent is to restart our race so that I'm never alone again."

He looked back at her as the two continued through the spacious underground cavern. "Fara and Asper remembered seeing you with an Anglar back on Eladard. How do Anglars fit into this equation?"

Kursed gave his shoulder a friendly pat. "Zizan? He's recognized my potential to be the leader Venom needs. He serves me because he'd rather be on the winning team. Dash Bowman all but handed me his empire because I manipulated him. But he can't rush into a war with Corneria now. Venom will become the new guardians of the Cerinian colony – they'll serve me because I'll restore their global economy and lead them into a golden age. Their mission will be simple… they're to protect the colony from evil telepathy hunters like the ones on Kew."

"The watcher isn't evil," said Marcus. He remembered the man with the blue tie coming to rescue his team on the flight hanger of the GreatFox back on Titania. That same man also got him to leave the hospital before Venom's bomb attack on Corneria last year… Surely the man saved his life more than once. "Why would you think that?"

"He shares his planet with another race who gets their jollies by hunting down telepaths and killing them. They can teleport so it doesn't matter if you can sense your enemies… this one will appear and take your head before you have time to react." She brought a flashlight up and shined it on the wall. Well over thirty feet high, the entire wall was covered with symbols and letters. "…Whoa."

"That's Krazoa lettering," murmured Marcus. "I recognize some of the letters from The Walled City. Maybe you can politely ask _Anezka_ to translate this for you."

"Are you out of your mind?" Kursed snapped. "There's no 'Krazoa purity test' to earn the friendship of someone radiating with that much anger and hatred. You're completely insane. She's not our ally, boy." She turned her attention back to the wall of glyphs. "I wonder if this is it. However, it could be part of the unit that kept her beneath the dirt for so long."

"I thought you suggested she might have come from outer space some time after the bomb detonated?"

"I'm not sure what to believe. I sense that she came from this very spot… but I also cannot fathom someone surviving a nuclear detonation at this range." Kursed pointed back towards the center of the newly formed room. "It went off just back that way." She kicked her foot into the ground, sending up a cloud of powder. "That's why the dirt was pulverized into this thin mess. Nothing could have survived fifty million degrees or the air pressure of that blast. _Nothing_. Use your brain." She placed a paw on one of the glyphs on the wall and traced the marking with her fingertip. "This wall took serious punishment and withstood. Impressive. It's quite possible that I've found what I'm looking for."

Marcus looked away without a word and folded his arms. "What's your next move?"

"Patience my dear." She lifted her left paw and put the flashlight into her teeth then punched in a series of commands on her computer wrist pad. She spoke over the light in a muffled voice. "My ship is on its way. It will punch through the thin granite ceiling and land, here in the cavern. We'll go inside and analyze data and wait for Panther and Fara to return."

"Where are they, anyhow?"

"It's sad you can't sense it," she replied. "They're in the midst of combat right now. Fara is most impressive. You've quite a girl but remember one thing, Marcus. What is love?"

"It's a feeling shared between…"

Kursed smirked and interrupted him. "It's a series of nerve impulses. You feel it for things you're attached to because of the way you've hardwired your brain. You're attached to her so you feel these nerve impulses and the chemicals in your blood known as hormones."

"Yeah? Well screw you – I like my nerve impulses whenever Fara is around me. She has them for me and I have those impulses for her. That's love. Stop trying to downplay my emotions. Get some of your own. I certainly don't need _your_ version of acceptance to feel special – you're a real piece of work. Furthermore…"

The ceiling crumbled. Chunks of rock and debris fell from above. Without thinking, Marcus withdrew his staff and shielded them. The staff's generator unit became tuned to the frequency of the dual shield barriers used by both Cerinian foxes. The staff recycled power from them working to deflect every stone to come their way.

She smirked, watching him return the staff to its holster as her ship entered the large cavern from a small hole above. She folded her arms and finished his sentence. "…Furthermore, you've been using my staff all this time. I see you've been careful with it and kept it clean and in good condition." She gave him a gentle nudge and walked towards the ship as it settled on its belly ten meters away.

The aft section opened and she boarded it. The shuttle was separated into three sections. At the front was the cockpit, at the aft was a cargo bay. In the center were her personal quarters… a very small cabin with a kitchenette and comfortable bed covered with various pillows. Round ones, square ones, and cylindrical rolled ones… She dropped onto the mattress and stretched out on it. "They'll be here soon. Relax for now. I sense them and they're just fine." She touched two buttons on a nearby control panel and smiled. "The ship's shields are up. Deactivate your defense barrier so we can recharge them while we wait."

* * *

**A proton discharge** slammed into the crumbling concrete debris that shielded Fara and Panther from the onslaught of gunfire. Shattered powder discharge floated down, layering the two in dust. Fara glowered at the feline then sighed. "This is not my idea of a good time."

Caruso licked his knuckles then used his moistened paw to wipe off the dust on his face. "So there were more than six… Don't fault Kursed – she must have only sensed the initial team not their reinforcements. Besides, you have Panther to protect you, vixen."

"Last I checked, Panther, we were _even_. I saved your arse three times; you returned the favor three times. Don't get cocky." She rummaged around in her personal gear pack then smirked and, before Panther could see what she had in her bag, she jerked her paw up and tossed something over her shoulder. It zipped over the wall they used for cover and onto the battlefield of concrete chunks and other random debris. "Ya' might want to hold your ears," she said, casually reaching up and placing her palms firmly over either side of her head. "Now would be good."

Panther gritted his teeth and reached to cover his ears. No sooner had he pushed his ears down with his palms, her thermal detonator erupted. A Venom lizard sailed over the wall and landed on its back. Another one charged up over the wall with its armored vest on fire. Panther Caruso reached up, took the man by his neck and flipped him into a suplex then put three quick blaster shots into the helpless creature's forehead.

The fennec nodded in approval then drew out a makeup compact. She overheard Panther offer some sort of smartass comment but she ignored him and leaned back against the wall of concrete. She lifted the mirror, peering into it then fired her blaster _into_ the mirror. It reflected the shot and struck an enemy in the shoulder at sixty feet away. She fired into the mirror again, hitting another enemy square in the torso at about twenty-five feet away. After a third and forth shot, the mirror began bubbling up from heat.

She cursed under her breath and tossed the worthless compact over her shoulder. To Caruso's amusement four lizards dove out of the way expecting another thermal detonator. He stood up and opened fire in an attempt to hit them as they fled.

Fara stood up and crept around the three-foot wall on her knees. Staying low, she shot out the legs of two soldiers across the way then aimed high and scored a headshot on the injured one who had taken the shoulder injury from the mirrored blast a moment prior. "Why can't we use those shield barriers you mentioned?"

"Because they've been calibrated to protect against radiation, now. They're useless against weapons discharge!" He saw something in the corner of his eye and turned around, reaching outward. His palm met with the forehead of an attacker trying to move up from the right. Panther turned him about and slid his arm beneath the man's neck, using him as a body shield. "We don't have time for this, my dear. Panther wishes to excuse himself." He moved out from behind the debris with the struggling reptile.

The lizard kicked at his shins then brought an elbow back into Panther's abs and ribs. He jerked his head back, trying to catch Caruso in the jaw, shoulder and collarbone. Surprisingly resilient, Panther simply ignored the strikes and continued forward. Gunfire struck the attacker's flack vest just beneath the feline's forearm. Another shot hit the man in his forehead.

Now slumped in Caruso's embrace, the lizard's feet began to drag through the dust. The large cat didn't seem to notice from his immense upper body strength. He used his free paw to fire his blaster. He pinned down two reptiles, killed another then disabled a fourth by wounding him. The last shot took out the lizard's knee. He dropped to the ground and attempted to scramble away with his arms.

Caruso lowered his weapon, fired then continued trudging through the debris with the dead body shield. "There are no roses for you gentlemen! Pardon such manners, Panther did not intend on killing you all this evening!" Another soldier attempted to flank him.

Quickly, he unraveled his arm from the throat of the dead shield and reached for the incoming attacker. The first man crumbled to the ground. With grace and poise, the onyx-furred feline brought his knee up into the man's abdomen, breaking both of his lower ribs beneath the tactical vest. He flipped the man around, took him by the neck like the last one then began moving forward again. Two gunshots struck the new body shield's vest.

Fara watched in slight amusement. She had to admit he had a certain grace about taking it to the enemy. His body count was starting to gain on hers. "Well, aren't you going to thank me for leaving you some?"

"Thank you!" Concise and bright in tone, Panther moved up, causing the lizards to fall back. A gunshot rang out from behind; his ear flickered. He casually glanced over his shoulder seeing one drop to the ground with a sizable hole in the back of his neck. His arms and legs twitched from death spasms. Beyond, Fara Phoenix held her gun with smoke emanating from the extended barrel. Caruso repeated himself a second time, "Thank you!" He continued forward once more.

His ears fluttered again, hearing a bone-popping sound followed by a masculine gag. After a brief pause there was a thump from a body. "You're very impressive, Miss Fara Phoenix. And here I thought you were just a typical 'daddy's rich girl' type. I have to wonder… what do you see in Marcus McCloud?"

"He's twice the man you are," she remarked casually, checking the fallen enemy for gear. "Oh and no matter _what_ you may think about your 'skills', he's better in bed than you are because he telepathically _knows_ what women want. He's also a better fighter for the same reason not to mention he has a better personality and attitude. Did I miss anything? Oh! It makes him a better pilot, too." She paused for good measure then looked up at him with a smile. "And he's a successful mercenary, now, so he's rich." She smirked, withdrawing an unmarked keycard, identification card, a weapon and a grenade. "Face it, Panther Caruso… you might have seen him while he was deep in mourning – killing the twin of one's mother can do that, see, but… once you get to know him better you'll find that he's _twice_ the _man_ you are."

"How sweet, you're in love." He dispatched two more lizards then broke the neck of his body shield. "Panther is happy, for a woman in love is the most beautiful of all God's creatures."

Phoenix stood up and checked the power cell on the pistol she'd taken. "Sarcasm is becoming of you, Mister Caruso. However there are things you excel at when you two are compared side by side. Wisdom – you're older; culture and sophistication – you're grayer; patience – you're slower. Oh! And… wouldn't you know it? You're a _far better_ bullshitter than he is, Panther." She stepped over several blocks that were strewn about the immediate area then approached him. "Pardon my un-ladylike vocabulary." She shoved a paw into his pocket and snatched out one of the shield barriers. "I'll need this, thank you very much. Come on, let's go check on them."

"Indeed," he snorted, drawing the other barrier from his pocket. "We'll go through the temple. There's an underground passage that leads into the new antechamber. It isn't far, Miss Phoenix."

* * *

**"They're here."** Kursed noticed the confusion in Marcus' eyes and quirked a brow at him. "You really _can't_ utilize your abilities in the midst of the radiation… Interesting."

Her proximity and thoughts gave her away. McCloud looked passed her to the entrance to the shuttle. Fara and Panther walked in and deactivated their shield barriers. Phoenix was the first to speak. "Is that _writing_ on the wall out there?"

Kursed beamed, offering a nod in reply. Meanwhile, Panther came over to her and took a seat adjacent to the youthful-looking cobalt vixen. She grinned at him then announced, "I'm positive I've found what I've been looking for." She paused as if distracted then turned to kiss the side of Panther's face. "Be a dear and do me a favor?"

"What is it?" he asked.

"It appears my doppelganger has been separated from her beloved groom. I'll stay here and continue my research on these symbols we've found… I wish for the three of you to ensure that he's all right with Anezka loose out there. Until we know more about her, non-telepathic persons may be in danger due to their lack of foresight." She slid off the decorative cushion and approached a wall-mounted computer terminal. She began typing and, after a moment, reached to the bulkhead. With a mere touch, a flush panel slid from the wall plate. She removed a wristwatch computer and tossed it to Caruso. "I've uploaded coordinates to this… it has Fox's current location and I sense he is currently safe. Bring him here or, at the very least, keep him safe just in case this new creature comes through the area."

"He's alone?" Marcus retrieved his staff from the charging station built into the wall opposite of Kursed's bed. He checked the charge then frowned and replaced it on the wall. "I suppose it would be ready to go in less than ten more minutes but I don't have time to wait around… _just in case_ that creature finds dad. I'll be back for this, though… I earned it during our _first_ fight."

"Yes you did," said Kursed, placing a paw to her right temple. She mentally scanned the area then looked back up. "Fox is not alone; he's with a dinosaur… The King Earthwalker, Tricky. But neither of them would be a match for the power radiating from this… Anezka person. At least Krystal McCloud can sense her… Fox and Tricky would be in danger. Find them quickly 'just in case,' as you said."

Marcus glanced at Fara then over at Panther. He retrieved his shield barrier unit from the charging pad and activated it. "Don't start any trouble while I'm gone," he said to his mother's youthful-looking doppelganger. "Thank you for locating him… We'll do our best to hurry."

"Run along now, sweet thing." She retrieved three more shield generators, giving Fara two of them. "This is for Fox and Tricky if you find them. These devices are obviously necessary should you bring those two back here. If I'm gone by the time you return… well, no worries. I won't have gone very far without an excavation team to finish unearthing that thing in the wall."

Marcus noted that Kursed retrieved three barrier units but only gave Fara two. He glanced back at Panther and nodded towards the back end of the shuttle. The three pilots left the small personal quarters. Fara and Panther reactivated their shield barriers and the trio left Kursed's small ship.

The svelte little vixen turned to the computer terminal and tracked them until they were outside of the antechamber. She waited for them to leave then patted herself on the back in a playful matter. Her right paw lifted and returned to her temple. "This way, my darling… Come right this way." She moved onto the pillow-covered bed and closed her eyes in meditation.

A matter of minutes passed. Quite suddenly, Kursed's brilliant hues flicked open and she watched the door with a brilliant and expecting smile. It swished open. She beamed at the older-looking female. "You're quite powerful – I could sense you pretty much anywhere on this planet." She motioned to the other shield barrier on the charging pad and said, "You'll need that outside of this shuttle. It's tuned to protect your body from the effects of the radiation you've just walked through." A pause then she said, "Look at you… you're absolutely beautiful."

Krystal McCloud smirked, took the shield generator and placed it into her pocket. She folded her arms and replied telepathically to her doppelganger '_At least you know you'll look this good when Dash Bowman's genetic version of 'plastic surgery' wears off. I saw Kite leaving this site as I came over the ridge… so, you've sent Marcus to find Fox. I appreciate that._' She cocked a single brow and thought, '_Why? I thought you hated my husband._'

With a shrug, Kursed leaned back on the bed. She propped herself up on her left elbow, eyeing Krystal's staff. '_It's a shame my abilities far exceed your own. It would add a fair dynamic to what's about to happen between us. It's of no matter, though. Do you suppose that Marcus will be able to sense us together?_'

"He would have contacted me by now," said Krystal, silently adding, '_I fail to comprehend your intentions… _why_ do you wish to fight me?_'

The reply started in the form of a slow smirk, spreading across Kursed's muzzle. '_You sense that I wish to fight you… but you can't see my reasons? No matter my dear… There's only room in Lylat for one of us. I'll usher in the new era for Cerinia and you won't live to stop me._'

McCloud narrowed her eyes, telepathically reading the details of Kursed's intentions for Corneria and Katina. "There's _no reason_ to clear out two populated worlds for your little science project. I've come here to stop you from using that machine out there. There's no need for such a murderous action. Surely we can place the colony somewhere else or negotiate the use of a quiet continent somewhere on Venom…"

'_I have my reasons to terra-form Corneria and Katina. You won't stop me and your handsome little son has no idea that I mean anyone any harm. In fact, he's helping me quite willingly!_'

"ENOUGH!" Krystal gritted her teeth. "No one is dying today. Take your DNA samples and we'll send you back to your universe. It's time to leave our dimension."

"Make me." The youthful looking vixen smiled brightly. "You've lost even more memories than I have… I doubt you even have the skill to take me on. You've lost everything you've learned!" She tilted her head and saw something obfuscated in Krystal's mind. "Very interesting! You lost these memories when touching that strange object found in James McCloud's old ship? Perhaps it affected you _more_ because you were so near to it. No matter, you're now half the telepathist I am – this will be a cake walk!"

'_You're wrong – I won't let you take this any further._' Krystal glanced around the small personal quarters then cut her eyes back to Kursed. "Here or out there?"

"It makes no difference." She cracked her knuckles then licked her lips. "I'll kill you if I have to. It makes no difference to me, although it would be a shame to break such a pretty face. I would rather have your help. It's very simple – Marcus would be Adam, your DNA would become EVE… and my DNA would be Lilith. I'll give four children to the colony and you give three… of course, we all know the popular Lylat story… One child murders the other while the youngest one goes out into the world to populate it… with the 'childer' of _my_ brood, of course. You know what? Why don't we just skip over the semantics, hmm? I'll kill you and, in this version of the story, Adam will beg Lilith back."

A blink of near incomprehension. Krystal shook her head. "You're insane. Corneria already has an established take on Genesis – there's really no need for you to try and rewrite that story." She narrowed her sparkling green eyes. '_I'll do whatever it takes to put a stop to your twisted little scheme._'

"Oh stop," bemoaned the younger looking vixen. "You sound like a cliché comic book hero. I expect more from myself… I expect something less tacky." She smoothed her blouse with her left paw. "It's time."

'_Fine by me._' Krystal reached back, tightened her paw on her staff then brought it forward, swinging it at the other woman's teenage face.

Kursed lifted her paws, snatched it in her palms and smirked. Because of her matching DNA, the staff's self-injury failsafe mechanism disallowed for the weapon-tip to go active at this angle – an anti-suicide mechanism perhaps? Both vixens gritted their teeth, vying for physical control of the staff from either end. Krystal came face to face with her enemy and strained to keep control of the object. Meanwhile, Kursed's assumption that she would be physically stronger than her doppelganger was incorrect. She clinched the pole in her fists but couldn't pull it away from Krystal's grip.

Kursed kicked her foot at Krystal's ankle but the middle-aged woman lifted her foot then stomped her heel down to gain purchase on the deck. A scuffle ensued with both women tumbling together back against the nearby bed. They fell to the floor, grappling at the staff in an attempt to take it from the other. The slightly-darker furred youth glared at Krystal in an attempt to force powerful images into the mind of her enemy.

Pure of heart, Krystal McCloud saw through them with ease and extra perceptive clarity. "You'll have to do better than that!" Krystal chided, focusing her inner chi by channeling it into the staff.

Kursed sensed the intent and conjured the defensive abilities of the same practice. Krystal's energy was converted into something kinetic, which traveled into the staff. Kursed returned it back into the staff. Rather suddenly both vixens were thrown from the object. The Cerinian-made pole dropped to the deck and rolled halfway beneath the bed.

Krystal hit the far wall and slumped to the floor with a grunt. Kursed flew into her computer terminal and crashed to the ground with a groan. Both shook their heads to clear their thoughts then dashed for the staff in unison. They began scrapping over the device all over again, clinging to it at the fulcrum and unable to pull it away from the other woman's paws.

The staff's tip opened and a gush of wintery chill erupted. The frosty cloud spilled over one of the fancy pillows on the floor. As they tumbled over one another, Kursed's shoulder came in contact with the frozen decoration, shattering the cloth object. Krystal tried to bring her knee up to pin Kursed's throat but the younger fox was quick – she put her foot on the side of the bed and pushed off of it. Again they tumbled further across the floor, both straining to come out on top in the situation.

The tip of the staff remained open. Next, a glob of fire rushed from the end and struck the door to the private quarters. It was thrown clear of its metallic tracks. Kursed brought a foot up and launched Krystal up against the wall. She kicked her legs up and threw her own body upwards then landed on her feet. With a devious grin, Kursed broke into a sprint and rushed out of the bedroom, through the cargo section and towards the antechamber. She mashed down on her shield barrier then stuffed it back into her belt.

Krystal activated her own shield, grabbed the charging staff on the wall with the black smudge on the tip then hurried after. She made it to the gangplank, watching Kursed down on the ground. She mashed the staff down into the floor, tapped into the inner power of Dahn Daju then clung to the pole, feeling it charge. It boosted her into the air with twice the normal vertical force. Krystal extended her paws and came down upon Kursed's back. Both tumbled to the ground, rolling in the sandy powder that lined the subterranean flooring. A thick cloud of debris rose up around them.

The dust settled around each vixen, face to face, with both Cerinian battle staffs striking one another. Both women reached their free paw out to grasp at the other staff. Krystal brought her foot up and kicked Kursed away.

Kursed, the immeasurably beautiful teenage Cerinian fox, struck the ground. Krystal held both staffs and gave each one a twirl then lifted them high. She brought both down with all of her might, performing a dual-wield 'Super Quake' attack. The twin staffs operated as they were programmed to do but the magnified power of using both caused a surprisingly potent shake. The walls cracked and the ceiling shifted. Large chunks of rock fell from above. The underground room became cloudy again, illuminated by the vibrant running lights of the shuttle.

The hole in the granite above their heads began to crack and widen. Krystal bounded off of a small boulder with both weapons above her head. She brought them down with all of her upper body strength.

Kursed, hyper focused on her opponent, side-stepped with grace. She reached for the staff with the black smudge on the tip. With a pivot, she shifted her body and changed Krystal's downward trajectory by swinging the staff like a bat. Krystal hit the ground then found herself flung halfway across the cavern. She literally bounced off the ground and rolled several times then got up to her knees. She held her staff in her paws.

Meanwhile, Kursed held her own staff aloft, taking a moment to look at the black smudge at the tip. "Interesting… my blood stained this weapon and never washed off. This is from where he impaled me with this thing… Marcus stands a far better chance of beating me than you." She gave the cane a twirl. "Too bad he's my ally, now."

With a soft grunt, Krystal got to her feet and smirked. "My staff is fully charged… yours still needs a little time on the charger. This won't last much longer now that I've got mine back."

"We'll see about that." Kursed wedged the tip beneath a nearby boulder, charged the booster option then flung the large rock at her enemy like an enormous super-charged golf ball.

With finesse and otherworldly grace, Krystal activated the shield option and swung her own staff at the incoming rock. The energy shield absorbed the kinetic momentum with ease. The enormous chunk of granite shattered into fragments going every which way. McCloud held her head high. "You'll have to try harder than that. I already know all your oldest tricks; we learned this in school, something I remember very well. Do something new that I wouldn't know, else this won't be a challenge."

Kursed threw her staff at Krystal with all of her might. The other vixen deflected the incoming staff. She then narrowly ducked its return trajectory as Kursed used her recently acquired grasp on telekinesis to create the boomerang-like effect. Krystal cocked her brows. "Okay… _that_ was new… but I'm not really impressed." She twirled her weapon then brought it to the ready and, in a childishly playful way, she stuck her tongue out at Kursed as if mocking the younger adversary.

A guttural war cry came from Kursed as she charged her aged twin. '_JUST DIE ALREADY!_' Her staff struck Krystal's and the transfer of energy threw both girls apart. She sat up and glowered hatefully. "All three McCloud males _and_ Caruso belong to _me_, you old bitch!"

Krystal came to her feet and thought, '_My world, my men – go home to the universe you RUINED!_" and swung her staff. Again the two weapons connected. Upon contact the metal shafts ground against each other creating a plethora of hot sparks. She gritted her teeth and told the younger female, "Watch your mouth, little girl or I'll have to wash your mouth out with soap." She kicked at Kursed's ankle and, this time, successfully knocked the woman to her back.

Kursed tumbled backwards but brought her free foot upwards and caught Krystal in the chest. During the rollback, she managed to kick-toss Krystal back towards the ship.

The middle-aged vixen struck the metal hull and dropped to her right hip. She put the bottom of her staff against the ground to help herself to her feet but charged it. It boosted her into the air, pulling her body along for the ride. Krystal threw her legs over her head in a loose somersault then her right foot connected with Kursed's shoulder. However, Kursed's free paw was pushed upwards in an uppercut that simultaneously met with Krystal's gut. Both went to the ground hard.

Dizzy with adrenaline, Kursed was the first to rise from the dust. She quavered, weak from fighting. "This isn't over," she wheezed. "This universe is _my_ home, now! It's _your turn_ to leave!"

Equally injured, Krystal got up on one knee, panting and gagging on the miasma of dusty powder that layered the ground. "Been there, done that… came back for more."

Kursed offered a gawk. "Why must you use such _lame_ one liners? It's _really_ annoying! I'm surprised you ever kept your man's interest, you tactless blue idiot."

"At least I _kept_ my man!" Krystal flaunted her left paw, showing the engagement ring and wedding band on her finger. It was caked with dirt, now, but the diamond sparkled all the same from the shuttle's flood lamps. "All you managed to do was move on to the next one, you jezebel harlot!"

With a sigh of frustration, Kursed brought her free paw to her muzzle in a face palm. "Are you going to fight me with words or are you going to fight me the _right way_?"

'_You won't be mocking me after I…_' Krystal McCloud froze and looked up. Almost in unison, her doppelganger glanced at the hole high above them.

Anezka Vacek dove through the opening. Her hair-like tendrils whipped about behind her head. She dropped to a crouch and momentarily disappeared in the cloud of dust that wafted up around her.

Kursed swore in silence, which caused Krystal to grimace from the used of foul language. Neither spoke aloud. Their eyes were glued on the makeshift smokescreen, sensing Anezka remained at the center of it. The dust and debris settled. Vacek leered at them with cold eyes. She spoke. Both telepaths were able to comprehend every word…

"I thank whichever one of you unveiled the terra-forming device. I sought to utilize it to cleanse the fourth planet from the central star. I was buried along with it when betrayed by my own father – he sought to destroy both the machine _and_ myself rather than allow me to kill the woman who bore me. I'd have annihilated her entire filthy flea-bitten race. But NO! He betrayed _ME_! His own daughter! He BETRAYED me! …For some furry freak from a neighboring system that left him and abandoned me to start a colony on that distant planet! I _would_ thank you ladies… but _look at you_! Fur, tails…! Get off my planet and return to your own system!" She lifted both of her fists.

Kursed sneered with a roll of her eyes. "Boy she rambles on, doesn't she?"

Unequaled energy rushed from Anezka's palms. The overlapping fields of raw power struck both Krystal and Kursed and threw their bodies across the room. They both struck the wall and slid to the floor in immense pain.

Krystal rolled off of her doppelganger's body and uttered a whine at the back of her throat. '_Did I miss something? That Krazoa woman has fur on parts of her body… and a tail. Is she some sort of hybrid creature?_'

With a huff of pained breathing, Kursed silently replied, '_She's strong… I sense she aims to kill us. We're going to have to figure out something or we're both going to die._'

A nod of understanding was offered. Krystal picked up both staffs and passed one to Kursed. '_We're going to have to put our differences aside and work together. We'll have to combine our abilities to deflect her energy attacks. Will the radiation affect her?_'

"The bomb sure didn't scathe her," murmured Kursed in a low voice from the soreness in her torso. "You think she can be beaten?" A pause, then Kursed spoke loud enough for Anezka to clearly hear. "Well… her race did eventually become _extinct_… she has to be able to die _somehow_."

Krystal gritted her teeth, watching the woman begin a slow approach. "If only Marcus were here to help lend us his mind. Okay, get ready…" She reached for Kursed's free paw and they both closed their eyes to build a telepathic network of mental focus.

Before they could act, Anezka clinched her extended fists. Again, a flood of raw energy emanated from her hands. Both Krystal and Kursed were driven into the mixture of clay and compacted soil with intense force.

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A/N: _Ohnoez! Now what! I'll tell you: Now you check out the official Kit Karamak FaceBook page and become a 'fan' so you can get updates of what I'm working on, discuss ideas with me and help me determine what sort of things will happen next in my stories! _

_Hopefully, Marcus, Fara and Panther can utilize Kite to find Fox and return in time to save Krystal and Kursed from almost certain doom, huh? SO WHAT DID YOU THINK?_

-Kit


	20. Revelations

A/N: _For those of you who are also following REFLECTIONS OF REGRET, thank you! I started on it because I couldn't think of what to write about THIS chapter. Once I got a few things off my chest (like… you know, 7 and a half chapters of REGRET), this chapter came much easier. Some of you have said you liked seeing Panther show Kursed so much kindness. Even people who aren't Panther X Krystal fans… maybe you just wanted to see Kursed happy for once… well… Krystal and Kursed have their own scene in this chapter! Enjoy!  
Also, I'm working on both chapter 7 and 8 for REGRET. It should be up any time now. Thank you for being patient with this chapter - I wanted to build REGRET so that parts of this chapter would make sense! _

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Chapter -20-  
"_Revelations_"

**Panther appeared less than pleased** upon the back of the large pterodactyl. He glanced down over the side of the left wing then sighed, swallowing back his discomfort to put on a veneer of fortitude. Meanwhile, Fara remained quiet and Marcus kept his eyes shut and his thoughts clear. The further he got from the blast site, the more his mind focused.

After a relatively short time, McCloud cleared his throat and spoke up over the ambient rush of wind. "Hey! They're not far!" He brought a paw to his muzzle, inhaled deeply then told Kite, "Fox McCloud, m0 vukxoh, aj tend ad kxo suloj ev Moon Mountain Pass! Nacc 0ei nuak veh ij, tend kxoho?"

The reptilian bird canted his head back at Marcus. "A ted'k bden av A sud suhh0 _veih_ _foefco_! Ucje, teojd'k xo k0fasucc0 khuloc nakx kxo King Earthwalker, Tricky? A sohkuadc0 suddek suhh0 jemoedo kxuk jaqo ed m0 rusb!"

The Cerinian hybrid sighed. "Damn. I suppose he's right about that." He glanced back at Fara and Panther. "Once we land, we'll be going by foot for the rest of the time. Kite doesn't think he can carry _four people_ and, on that note, since Dad is probably with Tricky, like Kursed said… well… we'd have to abandon one dinosaur either way. She doesn't want anyone splitting up from me because I'm the only one who can help us hide from that Anezka woman. I sense she's close… closer than before but… wherever she is right now is a touch more distorted than wherever she was earlier."

"Panther is all for saying farewell to your scaly friend. This method of travel is not in the true spirit of piloting."

Fara quirked a brow then gazed back up at her mate. "Tell Kite we appreciate his help. I overheard 'Moon Mountain Pass' and I assume that's where we're going. We'll be fine from there."

With a nod, Marcus turned back to Kite and called up to him over the roar of the wind. "Kite, zijk fik ij tend ad kxo mattco ev Moon Mountain Pass. No'cc kubo ak vhem kxoho. A uffhosauko 0eih xocf uj teoj m0 odkeihuwo."

The pterodactyl let out a squawk and began to descend on the area, far below. The three passengers eased off Kite's back and Marcus hugged him around his neck then patted him on his head. He turned back to Fara and Panther and said, "This area is safe. There _are_ Venom lizards in the immediate area but they are few and far between. Where we are, now, is the meeting area." He lifted his left wrist and tapped a few keys on the computerized gauntlet. "Let's meet back here in thirty minutes."

Panther furrowed his brows. "Can't you just sense your father's location and lead us to him, Little Prince?"

Marcus ignored the nickname and said, "He's in the cave system inside the main mountain. I can't walk through walls, so I can't navigate the tunnels using my mind. It just doesn't work that way. Use your personal communication computers to log your status so that you can just backtrack to this point in half an hour. Panther, if you find him first, do _not_ start fighting with him. I mean it."

"Panther nearly killed his only son a year ago (_Reflections of a New Generation_), it's likely he holds a grudge."

Fara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and you guys were nasty to one another during space combat after he returned to _this_ Lylat. You're not dead, right? I think he's mature enough not to start a fight with you. Marcus is asking for you not to start a fight with _him_." She lifted her left wrist, tapped a few buttons then turned to kiss Marcus. Just because Panther was watching, she made it a grand show, taking a moment to slip her tongue into the muzzle of her beloved beau. After breaking the kiss, she winked flirtatiously at her love then retreated into one of the caves.

Caruso chortled with amusement. "Isn't that sweet… She loves you – how nice." He lifted both of his wrists, showing Marcus that he didn't wear a Cornerian-style wrist computer. "See you in thirty, Prince." He retreated into the cave, taking a different path than Fara.

The bluish-grey fox turned back to Kite, pointed to an entrance three stories up then slid onto the pterodactyl's back. With only a few wing flaps, Marcus was propelled up to the opening. He spoke in Saurian to the dinosaur, telling Kite, "Thanks for the lift, big guy. I don't have my staff with me, so getting up here would have been difficult to say the least. Could you do me a favor and fly back to where we came from? Just keep an eye out for my mother and her younger-looking twin. If they need a quick escape, you know, I'd feel better knowing you were in the area to offer a lift."

The reptile opened his beak, forming a squawking pronunciation of Saurian lingo in reply. "My pleasure, Star. Stay safe. If you can, try and lose the black-furred one. He seems like an annoyance. Obviously I can't understand him, but there's just something strange about that one." Kite pushed off of the rock face and soared into the sky.

McCloud watched him go then eased into the cavernous opening and began walking through the darkness. Further into the granite corridor, the walls became illuminated from a nearby fire. Marcus stepped into a circular room with several tunnels on the left and right sides. At the center was a small fire and, above the fire, there was a small hole in the ceiling to allow for ventilation. Warming his paws over the flickering flames was a man in a monochromatic vest over a freshly ironed, long-sleeved, button down shirt. Black dress slacks fit his legs with fine tailored alterations. His build wasn't overbearing but implied a dignified firmness. Darius Tyger Vai looked up and smiled. "Marcus McCloud! Welcome!"

The Cerinian half-breed cocked a brow. "Watcher… what are you doing here? I thought you were on Titania, looking for someone's help to solve a problem on Kew?"

"I've located him. He's now on Kew. Now I am back to ensure that you don't wind up dead, young man." He stood tall and, from almost out of thin air, he lifted a cane up and pointed the tip towards the Cerinian. "Marcus, my boy, you're not equipped to face Anezka. She is, unfortunately, out of her time. This is a matter best left for the Knights of Kew. She will harm innocents and things will get out of hand. Once she realizes that the Krazoa are extinct, she'll become uncontrollable with jealousy. Very sad – the Krazoa were benevolent, loving, logical and mature. She is born of a mother with fur, an ancestor of Cornerian decent. She doesn't know how to handle her emotions as the Krazoan mind was not designed to process such sensations."

"We'll just lock her in a force field and chuck her into space," he murmured with a sly grin.

Darius shook his head. "She has no breathing requirements. She, like the Krazoa of yore, is a self-sustaining creature with no lungs. While cold, she would still survive in the depths of space. She would create an energy bubble around herself to protect her body. Marcus, she is dangerous and you have a path to live." He lowered the cane and leaned on the handle. "It's a shame for your race – I would have asked you to speak to the Cerinian Oracle about your destiny."

"I have."

Darius blinked in confusion. "You must be mistaken. She died before you were born. Your kingdom is long gone, Prince Marcus." He adjusted a cufflink on his left sleeve.

"Excuse me?" He recalled Panther using that nickname. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he'd heard Panther call him 'prince' in the past (_Reflections of a New Generation, Chapter 19_), and more than once, at that. He tried probing the watcher's mind but couldn't see into it. "What did you just call me?"

"Didn't you know?"

"Know what?" He folded his arms. "My mother's parents were senators. Whatever it is you're inferring… I would have known about that."

The badger brought his free hand to his muzzle, rubbing at the underside of his jaw. "Very interesting… your mother never told you. I wonder why?"

"I was bound to find out sooner or later. Go on."

Darius shook his head. "No, it's not my place. Speak with your mother or her doppelganger. I have no right to speak on such matters. I've simply come to warn you of Anezka. Our race is still reeling from the loss of Cerinia. It's taken years to update all those records. Don't become the next death certificate. At this time, only a fully educated and competent Cerinian can last more than a matter of minutes against this woman, Anezka. She predates Kew and, from what records we have on her… very little is known beyond the fact that she's a hybrid Krazoan and spiteful. However, at this moment, Anezka is being entertained. The Knights of Kew are gearing up and researching a way to help her join her extinct race. Heed my warning, please."

"Fine, whatever." Marcus leered at the man for a moment then asked, "Where's my father?"

"You're closer than you realize." He lifted the cane again and gestured to the southwestern tunnel. "Go on."

Without a word further, Marcus passed the Kew watcher and headed into the indicated tunnel. While unable to read the watcher's mind, he could sense that the man was no longer in the area. However, Fox McCloud and King Tricky were, in fact, quite near.

Marcus brought a paw to his mouth and shouted. "DAD! Tricky! Where are you guys?" His voice had an interesting reverberation effect, like shouting in to an elongated tin can. Now he could sense Fara Phoenix. "Fara! Dad! Where are you guys?"

A shout of reply met his ears. "Marcus! This way! Where are you?" It was Fara. From where she stood in the next corridor over, she tilted her head and used her ears then glanced back at the aged man that was once her mate several decades ago. "Fox," she said softly, "How were you separated from Krystal?"

"At first, we left the temple to find Marcus. Less than twenty minutes later, she said she sensed that Saurians were in danger and asked me to hunt down the tribal leaders and issue a warning to hide. She went back towards the temple; I've not seen her since." He looked to Tricky then turned back towards his youthful first love and folded his arms. "Tricky and I warned everyone. We were taking a short cut through Moon Mountain Pass to get back the epicenter of some kind of enormous quake. About fifteen minutes ago, there was another quake but it was more of a tremor. It was probably just an aftershock. The thing is, there's no fault lines or seismic activity where the computer logged the quake and the tremor and I'm beginning to think the heat wave that passed over us… it wasn't magma related – it was an actual _bomb_ blast. I tried contacting Krystal about four minutes ago but she didn't reply. Now I'm starting to get worried."

Marcus stepped into the area and rubbed his temples. "How'd you find him so fast, Fara?" He approached Tricky, patted the large dinosaur on his head then hugged his father with a firm round of masculine pats on the back.

Fara lifted a paw to her ears and pointed. "I used my _other_ senses. I could hear Fox and Tricky talking and I just followed the sounds through the right network of caves. I have no idea where Panther has gone."

"Leave him," said Fox with a slight grin.

"I should," Marcus said, "But I won't. Fara and I rescued that idiot from the snow. Also, there's some sort of woman on the loose and I can't sense much about her. But I have it on good authority that she's dangerous."

"I've met her," said Fox. "She unintentionally saved our lives… your mother and I – we were trapped in the temple ruins."

Tricky piped up. "Krystal made a huge shield appear from her palms and held it like a dome. She saved us from the heat of that fiery explosion. It was pretty awesome!"

Fox glanced back at Tricky then shrugged at Marcus and Fara. "I can't explain it but I can't deny it, either. She did _something_. She called out for you, Star." Fox deadpanned, realizing what he'd just said. He was about to correct himself but Marcus gestured that it didn't matter so Fox continued with his explanation, instead. "She called out for you and when I woke up beneath the rubble, she said she sensed that you arrived on the planet. I take it you received her message. Anyhow, we should get back to her. Can you sense that she's okay?"

The younger pilot drew his lower lip between his teeth and shook his head. "I sense almost nothing. Mom, Kursed… they're both inside of this… radiation bubble. That was caused by a large bomb Kursed detonated to excavate some sort of Krazoan technology. It was overkill in the demolitions department but she used what she could get her paws on." He sighed then shrugged. "I can sense Anezka but it's very faint; perhaps she's _not_ inside the radiation bubble anymore." He immediately detected his father's worries and shook his head. Marcus took his father's paw. "Dad, I couldn't sense Kursed when she was five feet away from me while inside the blast zone. Radiation does that to me for some reason. I can't focus – it's like… trying to take an X-ray picture through a block of lead. Don't worry… I'm sure they're fine."

Fara reached and took both of their paws. "Kursed explained to us that her only intentions are to restart the Cerinian race because she's lonely. If anything, she and Krystal are probably together and can protect one another. Let's just find Panther and hurry back."

"Yeah…" Fox's voice lowered. "…Panther."

Marcus gave his father's arm a firm pat. "Yeah. Panther. I hate him, too. Incidentally, why are people calling me 'Prince', dad? You know anything about that?"

"Prince?" Fox quirked his brows and the quartet began walking.

"Hey, I used to be a Prince," said Tricky. "People only use that title if you're royalty. Maybe that's why Krystal wears those jewels on her head."

The elder vulpine offered a shrug. "From what she's told me… her parents were senators."

Panther Caruso stepped into the area from behind the group and cleared his throat melodramatically. Everyone turned to face him. "Her parents _were_ senators. But they were descendants of that planet's monarchy system. Their rule was only _ceremonial_ by the time they came to reign. Regardless, Krystal's parents were the king and queen of Cerinia. One came from the northern hemisphere and the other came from the south. Their offspring, Krystal, was the darling of the planet – the daughter of the rulers of both continents. She stopped telling people because she feels like a failed ruler of a doomed race. She's become quite sensitive to it."

Fox turned around, withdrew a blaster and put it against Caruso's nose. Tricky crouched into a stance, ready to pounce if necessary and murmured the word, "Bad guy…"

"Whoa, hold up," Fara said, lifting her paws. "Everyone calm down; I've already roughed up Panther once today. He doesn't need it again." She approached McCloud and Caruso, put her paws on their chests and pushed them apart. "Okay… Panther… first of all, Fox and Krystal have been married for over twenty-four years. How would you know something he doesn't know?"

"She apparently felt more comfortable around Wolf and myself. She dated me and partied with Star Wolf, even though she flew for Corneria at the time. A little alcohol and, next thing you know, the girl opened right up."

Fox gritted his teeth, flashing his fangs. "Opened up, huh? That's my _wife_ you're talking about, asshole."

Marcus came to the other side of the two men. "Dad, I sensed that he meant _metaphorically_… she came out of her shell, so to speak. I also sense that Panther remembers how much she _regretted_ telling them and that her nickname around Sargasso was, 'Princess' and that she eventually grew to accept it… to _grin and bear it_."

"Quite correct, Little Prince." Panther smirked, cutting his eyes to Marcus but keeping his face towards Fox. "She _did_ date Panther, after all – that is why she felt comfortable enough to talk about things that were on her chest. A glass of wine to relax her body, lest she have high blood pressure… after the second glass, she would always say what was on her heavy heart. Panther merely offered his ears and a shoulder to cry on if she needed such. This ole' cat was too smitten to take advantage of the situation _or_ use her in any way."

Fox used his free paw to push Marcus back. He then brushed Fara aside and moved close to Panther again. "She never wanted to talk about _why_ you two broke up. I swear to the Creator… if I found out you were hitting her or…"

"NONSENSE!" Panther bared his fangs. "_She_ broke up with _me_! She did it because she was _conflicted_ and, quite obviously, because she was _not_ over _you_, but was too ashamed to go _back_ to you! Didn't you _know_ that she also dated General Bill Grey for a while? She drifted about Lylat, looking for a proper suitor – it's obvious that, as the last woman of her race, she was hormonally driven to find companionship in order to start a family."

The elder McCloud gawked. "She dated _Bill_? Yeah _right_!"

Marcus winced and ran his fingers back through his headfur. "Dad… she, uh… she _did_, for a very brief time." He coughed into his fist and said, "Bill was my roommate for a time – I mentioned that a while ago… anyhow, they went on a few dates, they, uh… made out or something. He's extremely paranoid that I would be angry about it but…" he shrugged and glanced at Panther then glowered at the feline. "How the hell did _you_ find out?!"

Caruso folded his arms and turned away. "We should make sure they're not in danger. All we're doing is wasting time."

The telepath blinked then his eyes widened. "You _sick piece of crap_!" He turned towards Panther and threw a punch. Caruso caught it gracefully but was unprepared for the following one that struck him across the face. The skilled fighter swished his free paw at Marcus, claws extended instinctively. However, Marcus sensed every movement and easily evaded. He jerked his fist from Panther's grip, grabbed either side of the feline's face then butted his forehead against Caruso's nose, breaking it swiftly.

Fox stepped forward to help his son but was immediately stopped by Fara, who guided him back to give the two some room. She whispered to the elder pilot's ear, "This won't last long."

Marcus brought his right arm up long before Caruso could act. When the cat finally threw the punch, the fox's forearm was in place to block. Next, Marcus's knee came up, striking the feline just above his belt buckle. Panther tried to turn the tide on the fight by taking a quick jab at the fox's kidneys but, again, Marcus was ready.

With Tricky cheering from the sidelines and with Fox and Fara moving back, Marcus was free to sidestep. He snatched Panther's wrist firmly, brought his left paw down over Caruso's inner-elbow, then used his other paw to guide the feline's own fist up so that Panther struck himself in the face, claws extended.

Dazed and horrified that he had sustained two facial blows, Panther flailed in anger like a caged animal. Marcus kicked out his knee and thrust his own paw up beneath Panther's neck; he forced the feline up then back down in a choke slam. Caruso's large upper body struck the soft cavern floor, a staple of the Moon Mountain Pass region. Last but not least, the fox snatched a blaster from Panther's own belt and pushed it into the feline's mouth to the point where gagging was heard.

Through clenched teeth, Marcus said, "You _spied_ on my _mother_? You liked to _watch_ her while she dated Bill Grey? _WHY_? To see your competition? You sick freak!"

"Whoa, hold on!" Fara dropped down besides the two pilots and placed her paws on Marcus' wrist. "That's no reason to kill a man – this was before you were born and it hasn't happened since, else you would have sensed that too, right? Common sense, Marcus – think… You put the gun in his mouth because you're fueled by testosterone right now… is Panther's perversions worth taking his life? Give me the gun."

McCloud grinded the barrel against Caruso's textured tongue just to prove his point then, slowly, he withdrew the barrel and gave it to Fara. "You're a real piece of work, old man. I don't care _how_ jealous you were. And _yes_, I can sense your thoughts, right now… I don't _care_ if the first time was by mistake. That sure as hell didn't stop you the next _several_ times."

The onyx-furred cat narrowed his gaze. "I went to apologize to her on base," he said, speaking plainly in the first person perspective. "I saw her holding hands with Bill Grey and followed them to the movie theater. I attended the screening, a romantic comedy (_Chapter 7, Reflections of Regret_) and, from the front row, could see them making out in the back row like a couple of high school teenagers. She either didn't sense my presence because she was too clouded with emotions or hormones," he paused, seeing Marcus glower again but continued to speak, "_OR_ she purposely _wanted_ to ignore me. Perhaps that's the reason she kissed him… to put on a display that I would see. She _is_ a telepath, so it's likely she simply wanted to hurt me."

Marcus lifted a fist and, in reply, Panther bared his fangs with a growl, despite the fox's other paw wrapped around his neck. McCloud smirked at the older man. "You want one of those fangs down your throat? Growl again, see if it doesn't happen."

Fara placed a paw on Marcus' chest, gently pushing him back. She turned to Caruso and shook her head. "See? I told'ja my telepath could _break you in half_. Now maybe you'll believe me when I say things to you." She took the weapon and put it against Panther's broken nose, jabbing him to cause discomfort. "Are you going to play nice?"

"Panther did not throw the first swing."

"You're right." She glanced up at Marcus and lowered her ears. Whatever her thoughts were, it caused the younger McCloud to frown. She then turned back to Panther who watched, curious of their apparent collusion. Again, Fara said, "Are you going to play nice? He is, and you pulled out your claws. You keep those things sheathed or you'll wind up eating them _again_. Clean yourself up – your bleeding."

Fox watched as Panther sat up and retrieved his gun – handle first – from Fara. McCloud couldn't help it and said, "My, my… such a handsome face. Too bad it was marred by your own claws."

"Fox," Fara said with a tone of warning. "That isn't necessary."

McCloud smirked, keeping his eyes on Caruso. "Actually, there _was_ something I'd heard about your relationship with my _wife_. She said you cared more about your face than you ever cared about _her_. Now look what you've done… Marcus didn't claw your face or break your nose – _karma_ did. And you're right, Panther… we're wasting time when they could very well be in danger."

Caruso got to his feet calmly and put his blaster on his belt. "Just remember, Fox McCloud… _you_ are _not_ telepathic. If you wish to have a pissing contest, man to man, Panther would quickly accept such a challenge."

Fara groaned and rolled her eyes. "First of all, Panther, you already did lose. Fox has the _one_ thing that you want in life. It's over. It's _been_ over for decades." She cut her gaze at Fox. "Second of all, you're egging him on – Fox I expect more from you. You're a mature man. _Both_ of you are, now act like it."

Tricky quickly chimed in, glaring towards Panther as if to point with his nose. "_HE_ started it by being a _jerk_."

Marcus placed his right paw on Tricky with a complimentary pat. "Just let it go, man. It's over. Actually, _I'm_ the one who started it. Panther dodged a question by changing the subject. I probed his head because we're far enough away from the blast zone that I can do that now. I shouldn't have." He grasped the bottom of his shirt and gave it a firm pull to rid it of wrinkles then he tucked it in. "Panther, I don't think I hit you because you spied on my mother… that was just the straw that broke the camel's back."

"Then what was your problem, Little Prince?" Caruso used his sleeve to wipe the blood off of his nose. Next, he brought both paws to either side of his snout. He saw Marcus wince in anticipation then he made a triangle with both paws, placing all four finger-pads against one another, with his palms sloping away from each other. Panther placed the apex of the triangle snugly at the top of his nose, drew in a deep breath through his mouth and mentally readied himself.

While exhaling through his mouth, he brought his palms together until his paws were molded snugly around his nose then slowly dragged his hands downward in a straight line. A subtle _crack_ was heard – Caruso's upper lip curled to reveal his clenched fangs.

Marcus gagged, practically able to experience the salty metallic-tasting blood on his own tongue, sensing every sensation Panther was going through. Next, the broad-shouldered cat withdrew a makeup compact from his pocket and a flashlight from the other side of the belt. He checked his work to ensure his nose was straight then closed the small folding mirror.

To the surprise of Fox, Fara and Tricky, Marcus quickly put his paws out on Panther's shoulders to stabilize the man. "That sudden rush of dizziness is from your self-inflicted pain. It'll pass quickly from all the adrenaline."

"What adrenaline," Caruso murmured through his teeth. "The fight is over."

Marcus snatched Panther's right paw and forced the cat to make a fist then used one of Panther's own claws to pierce his palm. Caruso hissed in agony, grinding his molars together to keep from getting violent. He blinked away tears of anguish that formed in his eyes then shuddered with a sigh. "You're correct, Little Prince… adrenaline has helped to clear the dizziness. Panther's nose hurts less than before, too."

"Yeah, your brain doesn't process pain the same way when you're hurt in two places. You probably don't even feel the slash marks on your cheek… yet." He smirked and released Caruso's paw, offering a firm slap on the feline's back. "You'll be fine. Besides, you're too old to need a perfect face – imperfection adds character." The young fox lifted his index finger and pointed to a rather faint star-shaped outline around one eye. There was a brief pause. Marcus grinned, sensing that Panther wanted him to shut up but refused to vocalize such a demand. He walked back to Fara and his father and said, "He's ready to play nice. I can vouch for him. He glanced over his shoulder at Panther and said, "Oh! And to answer your question… my _problem_ with you… was seeing you snuggled up in the snow with Kursed. Watching Bill make out with my mother through your eyes was just… icing on the cake, pal. You _deserved_ getting flattened for being a voyeur. Karma is a bitch, huh?"

"Enough," said Fara. "Let's go, gentlemen." She reached for Marcus' tail and gave it a swift tug. "You too, mister." She looked back at Panther with scolding eyes. "Next time, keep your big yap shut. If you want to tell Marcus about his heritage, consider the fact it's something his mother should do. If he reads it from your mind that is one thing, but if you throw it in his face to boast that you know things about Krystal… well, that's when you're asking for problems. Marcus didn't start this, Panther – _you did_. Let this be a lesson in humility; _that_ will make you a better man." She jerked her head to the left and everyone followed Fox through the intricate network of tunnels.

In a relatively short time, the quintet emerged on the far side of Moon Mountain. Together, they headed down the pass for which the region was so aptly named. As they continued along the trail, Fara's disappointment in Marcus dissipated and she slid her paw into his. He interlaced his fingers with hers.

Panther glanced back at the couple then came up alongside of Fox and discretely said, "Isn't it awkward that he's mating your first love?"

From further back on the trail, Marcus called out. "Can it, kitty! Stop starting drama. It's neither _'sexy'_ nor '_dashing_', oh great Desperado Rose."

Fox chuckled at Panther and ignored the question, leaving Caruso to sneer. He glanced back at McCloud's son and said, "Stay out of my head, _boy Prince_."

"Keep your pithy commentary out of my father's ear," Marcus replied casually.

Panther distanced himself from Fox and, without a word spoken, thought, '_If you can see all _those _things in your head, then I find it strange you did not see all the things your mother and I used to do when we dated_. (Chapter 1 & 2, Reflections of Regret) _After all, we were very sweet on one another while it lasted. If the timing was right, or perhaps her ovulation cycle was lined up just the right way… your last name would have been _Caruso_._"

Marcus casually remarked to Fara, loud enough for Panther to hear, "You know, we should have rescued Kursed from the avalanche and left Panther to _die_ in the cold. I mean, he was at our mercy, breathing shallow and shivering – barely alive as I recall… but really, what has he done to help any of us so far? Nothing. We should have let'em die or left him back in Moon Mountain. Sometimes, doing the right thing isn't all that." He raised his voice and called up to his father. "Hey dad! Has the whole 'hero thing' ever made you regret helping people who don't deserve it? How do you handle the lack of gratitude?"

With a joking tone, Fox called back, "I just shoot'em. Who would know? They were supposed to die anyway, had I not rescued the person… If they give me grief, I just plug'em with a hole or two and give'em back to destiny."

Panther looked away. "Very amusing. Panther will not fall for your head games."

Fara's large ears flickered and she released Marcus' paw. She moved up adjacent to Panther and told him, "And _yours_ aren't working on _us_. I've _never_ seen Marcus act like this towards _anyone_. It's obvious that you're encouraging this by putting childish thoughts out there for him to pick up – stop it _right now_ or we'll be delivering you back to Kursed in pieces. You're all being childish but Panther… you're being the accelerant for this fire." She cleared her throat and called to Tricky who moved up near where they were walking. The fennec patted Tricky on the side and said, "If he even so much as looks at us wrong… burn him."

Fox, up at the front of the group, looked back and grinned at Panther. "She means that literally, Caruso. Tricky can breathe fire just like a Monarch Dodora. Oh, and I made him an official member of the Star Fox team almost _thirty years ago_. Needless to say, he's on our side in this."

Fara frowned at the banter. "…Fox." She ran her paws back through her now-lengthy hair. "What has gotten into you boys?"

The feline looked to Fara and shook his head. "They're the galactic heroes. I'm the Casanova villain. There was a female involved between us. _This_ is how men act towards one another in such situations. Women are equally caddy, if not _more_ _so_ at times. High School Drama never ends, even long after graduation – the only thing that differs is the fact that the snipes get better with age."

The fur on her forehead scrunched up and she furrowed her brows. "Shut up." Fara moved away from Panther, letting Tricky take over in her place. The dinosaur kept in step with Caruso, purposefully crowding the feline's personal space. Meanwhile, Phoenix moved back besides Marcus and took his paw again. She turned to Marcus directly, and, in a quiet voice, said, "Please, for me, would you be the mature one here? Please?" Instead of letting him answer, she changed the subject. "Can you sense anything about Krystal, Kursed or that woman?"

"I sense that Anezka is still alive but nothing else… Earlier, I was able to read much more… I think she's still near the blast zone. I need to give my father and Tricky the shield barriers that Kursed gave to us…" Marcus began fishing through his stuff until he found them. "I'm sorry I let Panther get to me. I guess you could say I let his immaturity rub off on me because I was feeding off of his thoughts and emotions. Anyways, I can't sense mom or Kursed. Right now, I'm reading Panther like an open book but he was shielding his thoughts earlier… He might be trying to focus on things that annoy me so as to dissuade me from sensing something important from him."

"Do you think he's hiding something…?"

"I know he is," whispered Marcus. "It has something to do with Kursed."

Fara lowered her gaze and looked to the left. "Do you think they've slept together or something?"

"Maybe… but I don't think that's what he's hiding. He would rub that in my face to get a rise… A few minutes ago, he decided to start remembering things he's done with my mother while they dated. Believe me, Fara, if you weren't here… I would have finished him off. It's insulting to see that vile imagery. Even now, Fara, he's over there imagining the last time they shared a kiss when they were young. I really want to knock him out cold and throw him over Tricky for the rest of the trip… but to answer your question - no… No, he's hiding something important about Kursed. He knows she's up to something and I can even sense a hint of guilt in his heart – he feels like he's betraying Corneria for some reason. Whatever is going on, we'll get to the bottom of it soon enough. He's masking it now but… it can't last forever, especially with guilt gnawing at him. It's just a matter of time."

"Understood." Fara's reply was simple and concise. She gave his paw a gentle squeeze then cleared her mind, watching Panther, Tricky and Fox. "How far?"

"I wish we had Kite," Marcus mused in return. "We're walking briskly – I'd say about an hour and a half, tops." To the west, the Lylat Star began setting, leaving only the oddly ethereal glow from distant Solar on the eastern horizon. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. "In another month, Solar will be far enough in its revolution path that you won't see it from Sauria."

She grinned with a nod. "But over on Fortuna, they'll be having double sunsets and double sunrises every day for a season."

"When dad first came here, a single day lasted for a matter of hours, then Solar would set, Lylat would come up, it's a rare phenomenon that lasts for one month out of the year… eight hour days followed by eight hour nights. Needless to say, my father saw a _lot_ of sunrises and sunsets in a _very_ short period of time. He spent less than forty-eight hours on Sauria and said it felt like weeks just because of all the sunrises and sunsets."

"Fascinating." Fara pondered what it would have been like. "You'll have to show me when all of this blows over. We'll take a vacation here. Camping out is really fun."

"You're on."

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

**Krystal grunted in discomfort.** Her head was hunched forward and her neck ached. She felt like a marionette doll slumped over and unable to sit up straight or move. Oddly, her tail was curled up between her legs and the tip was in plain sight. She tried to lift her head but couldn't… Instead, she cut her eyes upwards and saw light in the distance. It was then that she realized she was stuck in a mixture of clay and dirt. It all came rushing back to her… The woman, Anezka, used some sort of powerful energy to throw both Cerinian vixens into the wall. Now, about three meters deep – close to ten feet, she was stuck in a hole the shape of her torso with her legs and arms and tail in front of her. Her head was forced downwards, with her chin wedged into the cleavage of her bust. Her body _ached horribly_.

She blinked and hunched over further despite the pain of her back muscles then she canted her head forward and saw her cane was wedged into the wall with her, merely inches beyond her feet. Stuck in the dirt the same way, she only saw the metallic shaft diagonally barring her way out of this clay hole.

Krystal lifted her paws and began to claw at the compacted earth around her head. Loose soil drizzled down over her face and body, forcing her to close her eyes. She worked diligently, using her claws to pull fistfuls at a time. The soil occasionally broke off in chunks, landing between her knees. In less than ten minutes, she'd managed to dig out a space so that she could finally lift her head. While it felt incredibly good to do so, her paws were now aching.

After a brief rest, she reached back behind her head and continued to dig until she had an earthen shelf to rest her head back in a somewhat reclined manner. There she lay for several more minutes, just trying to let her body readjust to the aching muscles in her shoulders and upper spine. Another ten minutes came and went. Krystal hunched forward, legs first, scooting towards her staff. Her feet came against it. She turned her knees inwards then gave the staff a swift kick, pushing it back towards the main antechamber. Krystal wiggled forward further on her rump, feet first until she was far enough into the small tunnel that she could lay flat on her back. Sweet relief! She used her paws to brush dirt away from her face then opened her eyes.

Staring up at the top of the tunnel, she came to realize that her tiara was missing. Her paws moved outwards, tracing the dirt walls all around her. She shifted her weight again, scooting forward slowly until she felt something against her knee. Krystal eased up onto her elbows to the best of her ability, on her back in the narrow tunnel, then reached down by her leg and scooped up her headdress, caked with grime and soil. She gritted her teeth in annoyance but shuddered at the crunching sensation of dirt in her molars. Again, she dropped her head back and lay flat for a moment.

'_Ow… this is the most unnatural position conceivable._' The voice Krystal heard was her own. She recognized the thought patterns immediately and relief coursed through her at the acknowledgement that Kursed was alive. Sensing Krystal's palpable hope and gladness, Kursed thought, '_I tried to kill you earlier… yet you're GLAD I'm alive? What kind of goodie two-shoes are you, ya' crazy broad?_'

Krystal didn't care about the insults, she was just glad Kursed wasn't dead for some reason. Again, she lifted her paws in the narrow crawlspace and rubbed at her face with the backside of her paws. She cleared her mind then responded telepathically. '_I wasn't expecting to be thrown straight into the wall. We should both be so lucky that this wasn't solid bedrock. Kursed… tell me how you became so hurtful._'

'_I don't know,_' responded the vixen non-indigenous to this dimension. '_I remember calling myself 'Kursed' and going to Kew. I remember Octoman and I remember Fox. He was acting different and I was curious about his new confidence. I even kissed him… He left and… I believe he went to Sauria to see if I would show up… I considered going with him… that's when the Knights of Kew, hunters of clairvoyant troublemakers, captured me. I recall some image-induced mind torture but… I've lost all my memories after that time._'

Krystal frowned. Her memories were still returning from time to time but most of it was still missing. '_I recall leaving Kew and returning to Sauria. I don't remember the trip, but I vaguely remember meeting Fox and going to the Krazoa Palace. I… I remember that he complimented me on my eyes and… I remember that his were the most vibrant glowing shade of purple I'd ever seen.'_

'_You don't remember why, huh? Our eyes turned violet when the Krazoa spirits inhabited us. You might just be mixing memories from the moments before Doctor Andross captured you, many years prior. Anything else?'_

Krystal began scooting along her back again, feet first, little by little. '_Yes, there was a man named James. I couldn't see his eyes. He had the most paternal voice. He hugged us… Fox and I… he said something strange… he gave us his blessing._'

'_Sounds like Fox's father… Strange,_' replied Kursed from the next tunnel over. '_You know those sunshades Marcus occasionally wears? Those belonged to his grandfather, James. I believe your husband may have worn them a few times while Marcus was growing up. That would be the reason you never saw the man's eyes. I wouldn't know about his voice, though… I've never heard it in person – only in Fox's dreams before the breakup._'

'_It was intense and positive. I don't know how else to explain it. Perhaps that's where our fates differed… I left Kew and you didn't… something terrible must have happened there to make you so spiteful. Kursed, please let me help you – we aren't enemies… we're the same person. Please… no one needs to die on Corneria or Katina. Let me help you and we can save Cerinia's race together._'

'_Okay, whatever… Just… I'm trying to dig myself out of this mess… but Marcus' staff is pinning down my arms._'

"Marcus' staff?" asked Krystal aloud. Her voice startled her. Perhaps she'd been in Lylat too long – she didn't intend to speak out loud.

'_Yes. We both agreed that it belongs to him now. It's just a nasty reminder of Cerinia – I will use it as a weapon when I need but I'd rather give it to him. Besides, it's stained with my blood… isn't that a sweet way to baptize his royal scepter? After all, he is the reigning prince over space rocks and frozen dust particles of our race, blown into oblivion. I'm surprised you've not told him or your husband of our royal heritage. Are you ASHAMED of your blood?'_

Krystal gritted her teeth, crunching the sandy dirt. There was no point in replying to her doppelganger's foul tone of thought. Krystal kicked the staff again, pushing it back towards the other direction. Finally, her legs draped over the side, her feet brushing the floor. The staff fell from the wall but, because it was so caked with dirt, it didn't clatter – instead her ears were greeted with more of a _thudding_ sound.

'_I'm free, Kursed. Do you need my help?'_

'_If you're offering, 'Mrs. McCloud' then yes… We have to stop Anezka before she terra-forms Corneria and Katina. She's stealing my ideas and I won't have it._'

Krystal picked up the staff and tapped it on the bottom of her shoes. Dirt fell off in clumps. She gazed into the hole where Kursed's body was twisted up like a pretzel, barely able to move. "If I let you out of there, are you going to play nice? If you're going to attempt killing billions on my new home planet… you can stay in there."

'_You need my help against Anezka, else she endangers your petty new home and your silly family._'

Krystal tightened her jaw and jammed the base of her staff into the soil adjacent to the earthen hole in the wall. She pondered changing her mind and leaving Kursed in there… but decided it was for the best. With her staff half-buried in the wall, she activated the quake ability. An enormous amount of power rushed out of the staff and into the soil, causing the dirt and clay to crack and loosen. Part of the wall gave away and crumbled to the powder-covered floor.

Using her paws to dig, Krystal made her way through the loose dirt until she found Kursed then pulled her out of the mess. "You owe me. Hopefully you have enough honor to…"

"Only if your idea of a favor is in my best interest," muttered the purple-haired woman. She slumped back in the dirt pile to stretch her back out and relax for a moment.

Krystal frowned. "Just like Panther… fine, then. You deserve him. Go on and think only about yourself. Think of what is in your best interest and go on using him. You're only fooling yourself and I am sad for you." She knelt down adjacent to Kursed, took the woman's face in her paws and licked the grime off her cheek. Krystal turned her head away and spit the soil to the floor then leaned in, yet again, licking another streak of Kursed's fur clean.

"Stop _grooming_ me like I'm your child," muttered the youthful-looking woman. Yet she did nothing to stop Krystal's actions. Within a matter of minutes, Kursed's face was clean. She couldn't manage to look Krystal in the eyes out of shame. No one had pampered her with such kindness in ages… then, in recent days, Panther, Marcus and Krystal came along and showed her some measure of heart. "Your act of compassion doesn't change things between us."

"I know," said Krystal. The vixen stood up and lowered her ears. "Where's Anezka? I sense she's near but…"

"I'll bet she's not grooming her enemies," retorted the other woman. She got to her feet and brushed some of the dirt off her clothes. She reached for her staff and approached the shuttle. With a vibrant _clang_, she struck the side of the metallic hull, knocking dirt loose from her weapon. "The others are on their way here. Marcus can't sense us… At this range he _should_ connect to our telepathic network but… he said something about the low radiation playing havoc with his abilities. Strange… Space is full of radiation, yet _that_ doesn't bother him."

'_I'm not sure,_' Krystal thought absentmindedly. Then she spoke. "Anezka isn't far but… she's not here… where is she? What's she doing?"

"You're asking _me_?" A scoff was offered then Kursed turned back to face the middle-aged female. "Shame you've lost some of your abilities. She's in the Volcanic Force Point Temple, beneath us. She wants to figure out a way to loosen a portion of the terra-forming machine. A great deal of it is still beneath the ground. That's why I was going to go and retrieve a Venom excavation team, fool. That moron thinks she can do it without blasting caps or tunneling equipment. For a race of technologically advanced aliens, she's not very bright for a Krazoan." Kursed looked over her doppelganger – fur caked with dirt clumps and hair every-which-way.

Krystal stood there with her tiara in one paw and staff in the other, looking tired and pitiful. She stepped into the hatch of the shuttle and Krystal followed. Kursed made a fist then sighed and relaxed her paw. She gestured with a side-nod. "Bathroom is over there. Go clean yourself up – I'm not going to do it for you. I'm not _like_ you."

The tiara was placed aside, as was her staff. She took Kursed by the wrist and led her to the bathroom then sat the youthful-looking woman down on the edge of a bathtub. Krystal reached up and removed the detachable showerhead and activated the water controls. She changed the shape of the water spray then took Kursed's left boot and began to wash it. "Don't argue; this is _your_ sanctuary so the least I can do is clean you up before I worry about myself. The reason you've become the way you are… well… that's simple. It's because you've known a great deal of pain and hatred from everyone except Cerinia. So… you think if you bring Cerinia back, you'll no longer feel lonely or rejected. There will be no more pain. The only people you can trust are your own dead people. Newsflash: Corneria isn't your enemy and you need to understand that."

Kursed glowered at Krystal. She didn't want her feet washed, yet Krystal did it anyway. In fact, Kursed didn't want anyone being kind to her. Not even Panther, yet she didn't reject him when he offered his coat. She didn't reject Krystal cleaning her face, nor did she reject having her feet washed… she simply didn't _like_ it. "This is awkward."

"No, it's really not." Krystal lifted her gaze. "I'll get you fresh clothes. I'm sure yours will fit me, too. They're at least an hour away. There's no reason we should both look filthy when they arrive."

"Why the hell are you doing this?"

"Because you're _me_. I respect myself. You, on the other hand, have no self-respect. All you respect is power and, as we all know, power corrupts even the most pure of heart."

"Whatever you say, _Princess_."

Krystal looked up momentarily then lowered her gaze back to the woman's soiled legs. She continued to wash the grime from the strands of Kursed's fur. "You're the _only_ one, here, who is rejecting their heritage. Just because I've not told Fox or Marcus doesn't mean I deny who I am."

"You're a weirdo," murmured Kursed. "You groomed my face and you're washing my feet… I could never do those things – touching someone's feet and licking dirt off of another person's face… where the _hell_ did you get those odd traits?"

"It's all part of being a mother," she replied sweetly. "If you ever experience motherhood, you'll understand. Changing diapers become normal. It doesn't gross you out anymore – instead, you find yourself giggling when you powder the baby's bottom. When you groom your child for the first time, give him a bath and wash his little paws and his little feet… you create a bond." Krystal spoke from her heart, remembering the first time she'd done all these things with Star and narrating those moments as if she was reliving them for the first time.

"…You're not trying to build a bond with _me_, I hope."

"You sure make a fussy baby." Krystal lifted her eyes, grinned in an impish manner then went back to using the detachable showerhead, next working on Kursed's legs. "I know why you want to wipe out the population of Corneria and Katina. You're miserable and spiteful… and misery loves company. By dooming those worlds, the survivors of Lylat will know your misery and… you'll be happy. But I'll be honest with you… after it's done… you won't be any happier than you are now. So there's no point in killing anyone."

Kursed looked away. "Whatever… so long as it isn't Anezka pulling the trigger. Screw her – she's annoying. Her reason for wanting to take out Lylat is idiotic. Who _cares_ who had tails and ears a _million_ years ago… she's an imbecile. The only problem is… she's powerful."

"Why do you care if she kills Lylat?" Krystal began working on her other leg. "You'd only be doing the same thing for a different reason. If anything, you simply let her do the work for you, kill her then _everyone is dead_, right?"

A smirk crossed Kursed's muzzle. "That's ludicrous; letting her get out of control is…" A pause then she rolled her eyes. "Are you trying to make me _want_ to protect Lylat with reverse psychology? I'm a telepath, you idiot – I'm _you_."

"No, you said you were _not like me_ just moments ago." Krystal continued to scrub at her shins. She reached over and took a Pumice Stone and carefully removed Kursed's boots. Brown swirls of dirt washed down the drain. The boots were coated with grime inside and out. She began working over the woman's foot using the porous object to work away the filth. "When you refuse to take care of yourself, a little part of you dies inside. You loose respect for yourself and you become miserable. I respect myself, you don't… we need to change that if there's any hope of opening your mind or your heart. Do you understand?"

The woman looked away again. "I understand that there's a psychotic freak beneath the temple. She's trying to rob me of my plans – I've worked long and hard to bring this to fruition."

"All she's trying to rob you of is your life and your ties to Lylat, whatever those ties may be. …I sense you let Panther in briefly. You let him show you kindness. I see your memories of his flirty advances but he seemed sincere, didn't he?"

"All he cares about is himself," Kursed said with a shrug. "I'm using him as a means to an end. Just like he once used me… used _us_ to elevate his ego and his status."

"I don't remember a relationship with Panther – I see you do, though. But look at the memories you have from the other day. He treated you well but he also gave you his only jacket in a snowstorm. If what you're saying is true, why would he do that? Perhaps he's matured… or perhaps, after being smitten with you… with us… for all these decades… he's decided to do whatever it will take to earn your love, respect… or even just your friendship. Whatever it is that you'll offer him, I sense he'll take it. Not out of disrespect for himself… but out of true adoration for you."

"For _you_," she snapped then leaned back against the tiled wall. "He _settles_ for me because he can't have _you_. I'm just the next best thing."

"You're younger, your prettier, you have a sharper wit. Why wouldn't he want you, Kursed? You're thinking too hard into this."

"He says I'm too young… but he'll _make due_."

"He's just not used to it… He's _not_ flung himself at _me_. Perhaps because he respects my wedding ring."

Kursed folded her arms across her chest. "What's the point of that anyhow? Cerinia's customs made more sense – why didn't you teach him those? What's this nonsense about wearing a _ring_?"

"Kursed… no one else is telepathic." Krystal began to remove the woman's second boot, guiding both feet into the tub. Next, she picked up the woman's tail and draped it over the edge of the tub then she leaned back down and began sanding away at the bottom of Kursed's other foot with the stone. "They don't know about mind-to-mind and branding techniques. Here, they put a ring on the left finger because your heart is on the left side of your chest. I chose to accept the Cornerian custom and found their wedding ceremony charming and refreshing. Fox and I have decided to renew our vows for our up-coming twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. We're going to go through the entire ceremony again, even if all my memories return by then. I look forward to it."

Kursed sighed and glared at the drain, watching dirt disappear at the bottom of the tub. "Well... it won't happen for me with Panther. He's not my soul mate. Obviously… or you'd have married him."

Krystal looked up with a hint of a smile. "I didn't think you believed in soul mates anymore."

"I…" She couldn't lie to another telepath, especially herself. "I don't _want_ to."

"There might be hope for you yet."

"I'm not interested in hope."

"A while ago you were trying to kill me. You said there's only room for one of us in Lylat or some such. Now we're here and I'm washing the dirt off of you. Things have changed already. I can only pray you don't become a backslider."

"Maybe if the opportunity presents itself, I'll happily backslide into who I've become. You're awfully pleased with who you've become, here in Lylat. You're not a Cerinian Queen. Instead, you've accepted your new life and embraced it… maybe I adapted the same way, Krystal. I'll play along with your little truce for a while… but don't be disappointed if I don't play by your rules for very long."

"I can only hope that the lot of us can change your mind in the days ahead."

Kursed scoffed. "You can try."

Krystal reached for a fur cleanser and began to lather Kursed's ankles, feet and shins with it. "Rest assured, I will. I have a newfound sense of self-respect and the least I can do is share it with you. You're me… so it's obvious _why_ I'm doing this to help you. Now relax before you get a tension headache. After all, you don't exactly have a husband to make love to in order to relieve tension so… just relax your body."

Kursed's eyes flitted to Krystal then dropped back to the tub drain. "Ironically, I felt one coming on… but now it's already going away." She couldn't lie about it, even though she didn't like someone seeing her soft side. She felt vulnerable this way.

Immediately sensing what was on the woman's mind, Krystal looked back up again with a smile. "If you can't be yourself in front of a mirror, then WHO are you? See, that's just it… you're going through an identity crisis. You're me… but you're trying to act like _you_. You're Krystal but you're trying to act like Kursed. No one else is here right now… it's just us. We're not fighting anymore so Anezka will _not_ catch us by surprise again. Just relax. Just be yourself. We're one in the same, after all."

"Yeah…" Kursed began to fidget with the dirt caked on her shirt. "You'd better not hug me or anything…"

Krystal pondered the thought of hugging herself to be humorous but noted the glare from Kursed. A grin tugged at the corner of her maw. "I hope you lighten up, too. You need a lot of work."

Kursed drew her lower lip between her teeth. "Did I really kill Fox in my universe?"

"From what I've heard, _yes_."

The woman sighed, squeezing the flesh of her lip gently but not hard enough to break the skin. She wrapped her arms around herself, looking cold and miserable, distant and alone. "I… I still love him."

"I know, sweetie."

* * *

A/N: _Almost touching, huh? Don't you kinda' feel sorry for Kursed right now? She's just conflicted and lonely and miserable and she's hurting. Maybe that's what the whole problem is… with Fox dead in her universe, her soul is incomplete. Now she's hateful and in need of comfort, regardless of the fact that she has such a difficult time accepting comfort from others. I'm sorry this chapter wasn't as action packed as the last one. I thought having Krystal against Kursed would be a huge success but with only two chapters after a few weeks… maybe having them beat each other up isn't the answer. _

_Also, a few of readers said, while reading Reflections of Regret, that they wanted to see Panther get his face trashed after treating Krystal with such disrespect. Maybe it's the reason Kursed eventually LOSES her self-respect. Who knows… either way, HOW DID YOU LIKE SEEING MARCUS GIVE PANTHER A TASTE OF HUMBLE PIE?! I'm not going to lie, that scene was fun to write and Panther is bottling his anger right now – he takes his looks rather seriously but doesn't want to sulk or appear whiney about it in front of his present company… but believe me.. he is PISSED. I especially liked how Fara pulled Fox back and gestured for him to just watch. After all, in the last chapter, Fara DID tell Panther, "My boyfriend could break you in half!" BAM! I DELIVERED THE GOODS, BABY! _


	21. New Direction

A/N: Having read _chapter 12 of Reflections of Regret will help you to understand a part in this chapter. Not NECESSARY, mind you, but a part from this chapter will be explaining questions people had in regards to a part from that story's chapter. _

_If you didn't already know, I've made a facebook page for readers of my stories. Simply look up, "Kit Karamak" and click "become a fan". Feel free to say what's up, ask about my next update or whatever else. You don't have to do it RIGHT NOW, or anything. I'll remind you again at the end of the chapter. xD

* * *

_

Chapter -**21**-  
"_New Direction_"

**Fox ducked a tree branch, keeping his eyes on Fara and Marcus with his paws in his pockets.** He was ignoring Panther and Tricky; his mind was wondering. He pondered what it was like to fake your death for the media, something his son had to endure at the moment. Even though Fox, himself, was also thought to be dead, he had an older frame of mind about the situation – it didn't bother the aging pilot, but he knew it _had_ to bother his son. Then he wondered what it was like living in a shadow far taller than James McCloud ever created. He thought about what it must have been like to have a son and hardly know him. Fox's thoughts turned to Jaye.

A deep, creamy voice filled Fox's ear. The feline spoke with a slight smile. "So, McCloud, what's it like to find out you're the Prince of Cerinia by marriage? Or would it technically be _king_, now?"

Fox didn't respond. He was deep in thought and didn't give a damn about whatever Caruso had to say. He saw the clearing up ahead and followed Fara and Marcus through the last row of trees. He activated his shield barrier, as did everyone else. McCloud gave one to Tricky and activated it for him. The group crossed the vast stretch of dirt. A few charred stumps remained but most of everything was gone. A temple could be seen in the distance, hiding behind a row of trees at the opposite end of the clearing.

However, the group soon realized that they wouldn't require entrance to the damaged building. There was a fresh, scorched _hole_ at the center of the clearing. At first it looked similar to a crater but upon closer inspection, the deep indentation in the ground had a hole at the bottom, which led into a cavern. However, it was dangerously high up.

Fara and Marcus were the first to the sinkhole. Fara got down on her knees and peered into the aperture with Marcus holding her by the hips for stability. Loose sand rolled into the hole but the granite beneath was solid enough to keep the strangely placed entrance from widening. The fennec glanced back at everyone and said, "Foxes and cats should be able to survive this drop. Tricky would never make it, though. Not without being injured. We could always climb through the temple remains but I understand that may take some time to clear out."

Fox folded his arms. "Tricky came from there – he wouldn't be able to fit back through that way, though."

The King Earthwalker nosed by everyone and stuck his enormous head down into the hole. After a minute, he pulled back out and shook the dirt from this face. "There's a shuttle down there. It's big enough that I can jump down onto it. I can make that. I know I can."

Fara tapped her lower lip with a manicured fingernail. "How'd it get down there – wouldn't there be another hole that allowed it access to the underground cavern? This one is hardly the size of a person."

"Good question," murmured Panther. "She _did_ have an entrance. There's a cavernous way in not far from here. If we head to the temple I should be able to get my bearings to its location."

"You having memory problems?" asked Fox with a smirk.

Caruso glared at Fox with a wide left eye and a half-lidded right eye, furrowing a single brow in question. "Last time I saw this area from _this_ angle, there were more trees. Last time I went to the cavern, I'd come from the temple. I need to be there to acclimate myself. Follow me, everyone."

"Here we go," mumbled Marcus. "It's time to follow the village idiot. This can't be good."

Fara gently nudged him to lower his voice, trying not to grin. Next, his father glanced at him and came alongside the young man, whispering, "When all of this stuff settles down, we should arrange some visitation time with my grandson."

Marcus rolled his shoulders up in a shrug. "I'll talk to little miss Violet Gryphon Lombardi if she's in the talking mood."

"You say her name with such contempt." Fox quirked a brow.

"I shouldn't have," he replied with a sigh. "She's been working with me to see him but… I still feel a little awkward about how it all happened. Anyhow." He trailed off and the group continued to follow Panther Caruso.

* * *

**Krystal blinked then returned her paws to Kursed's head.** Seeing the collaboration with Fox McCloud on Kew helped to jog some of her memories. She was starting to see familiar things but it wasn't enough to help her remember _everything_. Needless to say, she was seeing Fox's amnesia and what happened with Octoman back on Kew. Kursed's memory took place the day after Fox McCloud's birthday. (_Reflections of Regret, Chapter 12_)

So far, everything she saw was identical to what occurred in her life. Krystal watched the memories through Kursed's mind as if she were living them, herself.

"_You! Telepath!" The masculine voice startled her. She looked up from where she was leaning against the Arwing's hull then tilted her head. It wasn't her watcher. Instead, it was a man dressed in some sort of fatigues in an unfamiliar style. _

_ "So you are a Kew Hunter." _

_ He folded his arms across his chest, approaching her in a casual fashion. "Your perverted mind tricks tell you that, girl?" _

_ She blinked. "No, my…" She wanted to say that her watcher mentioned it but then she remembered watchers weren't supposed to interact. She tilted her head and said, "My keen eye – I'm a perceptive girl." _

_ He gritted his teeth. "Telepaths aren't supposed to know about Kew hunters until it's too late for them. Are you somehow able to read my mind? After all, you understand my language so you must be reading some part of my mind. You're even speaking back to me in my native tongue. Hmm… I've not seen a telepath with your abilities before. Where are you from and why are you here?" _

_ "My world, Cerinia, feel to a tragedy that was unavoidable. The central star collapsed. Billions are dead and it's possible I'm the last of that race. I'm here because I came to stop a criminal from hiding out in this area. I'm not sure how I'm able to understand you, as your kind blocks out my ability to hear conscious thoughts but I assure you I'm not scanning your mind as an act of perversity. Incidentally, how did you know I was telepathic?" _

_ "We lock on to people's mental signatures. Yours is developed, allowing me to see that you can read thoughts. It is, shall we say, an underdeveloped version of your abilities. But you probably already knew that, since you can somehow read my mind." _

_ "I'm afraid I can't read anything more than your emotions," she said with a frown. "And I can tell that you're not happy to see me, but that much is obvious by the coldness in your eyes." _

_ "I kill your kind for a living," he sneered. "I'm pleased to hear your race has been eradicated. It is the mighty Creator's way of giving other species back their freedom of thought and free will." _

_ "After what has happened to me over the last few days, believe me when I tell you, sir, that NO ONE can appreciate free will more so than myself. I've recently had it stripped from me and it was awful. I'll politely decline to comment on your words concerning my friends, family and home. While I find it ignorant to say such things, I understand that your job is to stop errant telepaths from becoming dangerous. I mean harm to no one. In fact, I didn't even kill the criminal I tracked to this planet. I put him into custody. A jury of his peers will decide his fate on the planet Venom in the Lylat system." _

_ "Your presence here is less than comforting to me," he said in a throaty voice. "If you really are the last of your race, then you're all alone." _

_ "That's unfortunately the point," she said, trying not to be facetious about his semi-insulting words. "I assure you I'm leaving in peace after I clean up the mess that was made on your planet." She gestured to the Arwing. "We also extinguished the smoldering remains of a shuttle in a clearing not far from here. It belonged to Octoman, the criminal I'm bringing to justice. I have acquaintances that are coming through here to pick up these scraps then we'll be underway." _

_ "You know… I've always wanted to catch a telepath and find out what makes them tick," he mused, folding his arms. He wasn't a badger like Darius – instead, he was a generic looking weasel. It was obvious that the two races were related but also had trademark differences. The man continued, bringing a chill to her spine. "Little girl, no one would find you if there aren't others like you to search. Knowing your mind better would help us do our jobs better." _

_ "If you're looking for a volunteer with whom to play mind games… you should probably look elsewhere." _

_ "I didn't say anything about volunteering." He leered at her then grinned deviously. Rather suddenly he disappeared. There was no light or fancy effects but, all the same, Kursed felt her eyes hurt terribly. Seeing him teleport made her eyes sensitive. She covered her face and groaned in pain. _

_ He appeared behind her with an arm around her neck. "Just relax. There's no need to struggle. You'll be our test subject, female." _

_ Kursed swung her staff back hard but it struck the Arwing hull. She looked around through squinted eyes but didn't see him. The woman continued to pivot, making a full turn. Again, he was behind her. His arms moved around her body, gripping at her wrists to subdue her. She cried out in anger. "Leave me alone! I mean you no harm!"_

What she saw next, she didn't recognize. From this point onward, everything was different. _Kursed lifted her head expectantly but the GreatFox was _not_ in sight. She tightened her paw around the staff and struggled in his grip. The hunter kept one arm at her neck and the other slid around her waist. He whispered into her ear, "Calm down or I'll make things painful. You see? Your friends never came for you. I guess you're all alone after all. It's time to see what makes you telepaths tick. I have a special surprise in store for you… we've finished a machine that will allow us to project images into your mind and gauge your mental responses in order to study your use of the frontal lobe. Let us go and make sweet science together, girl." _

_ She struggled wildly in his grasp and lifted her head again. A flash of red high above was the last image she saw before the forest melted away. The Great Fox was in the middle of breaking into the atmosphere, miles above them. It was too late. Everything went dark. Seconds later the teleporting hunter reappeared with Kursed still locked in his arms. They were inside of a rotten old cellar somewhere on the southern continent. _

_ He released her neck and waist then grabbed her staff. Again, the man teleported. She looked down, quickly, so as not to see the fantastic light-bending ability come to pass. When she lifted her head, he was standing with her staff on the other side of rusty iron bars. He gave her a smile then placed the staff against a wall opposite of her bars. "You won't be needing your little metal pole anymore. You'll probably die here, girl." _

_ "I've done nothing to you," she pleaded. "I was just leaving your planet. Please." _

_ "You're a dangerous woman. The last of your kind? You have nothing to live for and your humanity will eventually dwindle. No, girl, you're very dangerous. You just don't know it yet. It's time to crack open that pretty head and look at all your thoughts. Don't worry, we use a machine to peer inside – we won't actually split you open until _much_ later. So, dangerous girl, what is your name?" _

_ "I'm Krystal. Please, if you can find a watcher from the Northern continent, his name is Darius Tyger Vai. I'm begging you – please. He'll vouch for me that my race was the most peaceful group of telepaths in the Kew Records." _

_ The hunter sneered at her. "The Kew Records… what a joke. Those idiots and their stupid records. They're obsessed. But _my_ people… the south nation… we do things with heart. We have rhyme to our reasons but we have emotions and believe that faith, heart and passion is the key to a better world. And let me be honest with you, Krystal… my friends and I take our work very seriously. We'll study you with gusto, my dear. It's a shame you're so pretty. But it doesn't matter because after we study your frontal lobe, we'll kill you and run physical tests on your brain. One less telepath is never a bad thing." He left the area for the time being_.

Krystal released Kursed's head and slumped back. "I was never captured in this universe. Fox arrived just in time and the hunter was spooked. He left before anything happened.

Kursed shrugged. "I dropped the alter-ego name and was known as Krystal again. For quite a while, actually. I didn't return to being 'Kursed' until later, when I was speaking with your son, dying in the streets. It had a familiar ring to it; I'd not thought about it in ages. It suited me. I decided to bring it back. Ironic, no?"

"Indeed, it is," said Krystal with a frown. "What did the Kew Hunters do to you?"

"My memories end during the first torture session. They hooked me up to a machine. At first, they started forcing images on me. They wanted me to see memories of losing Cerinia and Fox McCloud kicking me off his team. They played it over and over until I was grief-stricken with tears. Every time I was forced to watch these painful memories, they became a little worse. They distorted and every change made by their machine was so real that I believed it was _really_ _happening_. It felt like déjà vu, but the most recent replay felt confusingly like the reality version. Eventually I stopped knowing how this breakup really occurred. I've been fuzzy on it ever since. While they forced me to watch these horrible versions of my worst memories, they were scanning my brain. I remember being mind-raped but my actual memories stop before the end of the first session with them. I'm glad for that. From what I know, I managed to escape and kill everyone then I came back to Lylat, screwed up in the head. Unfortunately, I took it out on Fox McCloud then Sauria. I re-read the newsreels and recorded logs from my shuttle after losing my memories. Apparently I killed Fox and his comrades then I removed the spell stones of Sauria to use as a weapon. With all four stones combined, I took one of Andross' plans, left in a Venom library, and I combined the two things to the best of my ability. The weapon wasn't stable but it was enough to destroy Fichina. My universe is _far_ different, now. I'm glad I don't remember the details of that night. It made me quite a deranged woman."

"I'm so sorry," Krystal murmured. "No one deserves to be put through something like that."

"I sense everyone."

Krystal nodded. "Yes, they're quite close. Marcus hasn't responded to my telepathic messages."

"Mine either." Kursed shrugged. "He can't. Something about the radiation field that blocks his frontal lobe usage. I think he hasn't mastered his abilities the way we have. Anezka isn't near, thankfully."

"Are you going to behave?"

Kursed quirked her brows, rolled her eyes and looked away. "Just remember, my truce is temporary." She tilted her head a bit then glanced off to the side. "I… Do you sense the strange energy closing on us, Krystal? I… I can see something – a canister in an old fighter on a flight deck." She rubbed her jawline in thought then said, "I sense part of Great Fox has come. Hmm, seems that it's only the carrier section. The dreadnought part must still be in dry dock."

Krystal started to smile but it faded right away. Her paw lifted to the side of her head and her legs began to feel weak. Without a word she swayed forward. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she fainted on her feet.

Surprised, Kursed tried to catch her. Krystal slid through the woman's arms, dropped to a kneeling position and slumped against Kursed's stomach. Her head lulled to the left. The confused youthful-looking vixen looked up at Panther, Fox, Fara, Marcus and Tricky. Krystal slipped the rest of the way out of her arms and flopped to the floor. She saw Marcus and Fox break into a sprint. Sensing their initial thoughts, the vixen lifted her paws in protest. "I didn't effing touch her!"

Panther folded his arms and quietly asked, "What happened?"

"She fainted _just now_. I'm as surprised as the rest of you." Kursed placed her paws on her hips, glanced at Fara then Tricky. Her eyes shot back to Marcus and Fox. "She and I made a temporary truce so don't even start with me."

"Is she being honest?" Fox asked Marcus, knelt over his wife's body.

Marcus shook his head. "I don't know. I can't sense anything from her or anyone else while we're down here. I don't know why." His eyes glanced up at Kursed and in a calm tone, he asked, "Where is Anezka?"

"She's not here or we would be dead. You and I need to talk about whatever it is that was found in your grandfather's fighter. Krystal said something about an artifact that caused her to forget things. Apparently, when she touched it, I was affected as well." She paused then, in a softer tone, said, "Krystal is fine. I can still sense her thought patterns – it's not like she's in a coma. In fact, she's dreaming. She's fine. Let's just get her out of here." Kursed turned to Panther and pointed towards the cockpit of the shuttle. "You and Fara head to the front and fly this thing. Fara, use my communications panel to contact the Great Fox and take us there. We'll track Anezka's whereabouts with their sensor array. I need to see this artifact so I can figure out how to reverse what's happened to my mind."

Fara narrowed her eyes at the request but Panther went to the front of the shuttle without a word. After a moment, Phoenix followed him to the front. However, she left the door between the two compartments wide open to keep an eye on Kursed.

The youthful vixen settled on the sofa, crossed her legs and folded her arms beneath the swell of her bust. Fox glanced up at her, unable to deny her looks. He was conflicted with confusion – she appeared to be about twenty. "It's weird. Like you're fresh from my past. You look like Krystal looked the day I met her."

"Odd, isn't it? When I look into a mirror, I'm just as confused as you are."

Marcus tucked his mother's hair behind her ear. "C'mon, wake up." He used his thumb to ease her right eyelid open. Krystal's eyes were rolled upwards but she was breathing and her pulse was strong. "It's me, mom. Just wake up so I know you're okay." However, Krystal remained unresponsive.

Up in the cockpit, Panther began running through an abridged version of the pre-flight checklist then engaged the throttle bar. He focused on passing through the subterranean cavern while Fara sent a message to Great Fox. Once the shuttle was clear, she turned back to Panther and folded her arms. "So, what's your story?"

"I'm still in love with her. The problem is, she looks _too young_. I feel like I'm robbing the cradle and don't care for that feeling."

Fara rolled her eyes. "Bull, it's the last thing on your mind. What about Star Wolf?"

"Star Wolf and Star Fox have grown beyond their tensions for the time being. No one cares about that sort of thing anymore. Besides, Wolf's son and Marcus are quite close. Again, no one cares. Miss Phoenix, Panther is not here to make you trust Kursed – Panther wants to learn, though, what does your people know about her?"

"Very little. I was hoping to learn what _you_ know." Phoenix glanced at the instrument panel and frowned. "Some of these controls are marked in a language I've never seen before. I take it this is Cerinian?"

"Apparently so." He lifted a paw and touched two switches above his head then leaned back in the piloting seat. "She's a lovely woman – she always has been lovely. I… am in love with her but… the vibe is wrong. Panther is hoping to help guide her in the right direction but she's as stubborn as she was at the age she now looks. She's always had a stubborn side."

Fara glanced between the seats, back through the doorway to Tricky, Fox, Marcus and the unconscious Krystal. Kursed looked up and met Fara's gaze then looked back to her doppelganger. Phoenix sighed and slumped back in her own seat. "What's she hiding?"

"It's complicated. Panther would like to think she's simply angry. Deep down she's still Krystal. Things she says are out of frustration. However, her core mission at this point is the restoration of her race."

"…Yeah." Fara sighed in a rather audible way. "I know you don't have a good," she paused and waved her paws as if looking for a word. "You don't _respect_ Marcus, for lack of a better word. You have a low opinion of him. But you don't know him."

"Panther has seen him fight and now respects him on a battlefield. However, he's an emotional boy at heart. He has a great deal of growing up to do."

Fara was quick to defend her mate to the onyx-furred panther. "You came face to face with him after he thought he'd just murdered his own mother. Fighting your mother's doppelganger is beyond logic and belief, Panther. He thought he was the last of his race at the time. He was struggling with having just learned about his son's existence; he'd missed everything – the first step, the first… _everything_. You wouldn't know how important those things are even if they bit you in the face, Caruso."

"Kursed has incredible respect for him," Panther replied in a soft tone. "She says he's the only one she fears and respects. She also says she's glad he's willing to have a truce."

* * *

**Fox carried his wife from the shuttle** and glanced back at Fara, Marcus, the King Earthwalker and the other two. His gaze returned to his son, wondering how his boy was holding up with everything happening to Krystal as of late. Fox looked back at his wife and sighed. He swallowed back his emotions and continued from the hanger into the next corridor.

As he passed through the doorway, a soft voice caught his attention. "Why the glum face, baby?"

He looked down at Krystal and saw her staring up at him with a weary smile. "Krystal… you're okay!" His voice was barely a whisper but full of excitement.

"I have _such_ a headache." She lifted a paw to his cheek and rubbed away the frown until her husband managed a smile. "Stop worrying if I'm going to be okay. I've got all my memories back. To be honest, I think I needed that – after putting myself in that mindset for the last few days, I feel younger than I have in years. It was interesting to be the one without my memories this time. Ironic, if you ask me."

"God I'm so glad you're okay."

She eased up and kissed him then said, "I love you, Fox." But before he could reciprocate the sentiment, she glanced over his shoulder and said, "I think the temporary loss of memories was important. I was so jaded after being put through so much. I needed my innocence back to survive going toe-to-toe with my doppelganger. She might have made me worse – thank goodness I had no memories of ever feeling anything less than happy and loved. Connecting with her may have had a positive reaction on her mind."

Marcus, sensing his mother's full recovery, rushed to meet up with his parents. "Mom, you're… _you_ again!" He was delighted; his eyes sparkled with optimism. "I was so worried you would stay that way forever."

Krystal slid from Fox's arms, putting her feet firmly on the deck. She turned around and embraced her son and kissed him. "I'm really proud of you. You were so quick to man up when I couldn't be there to help you. I'm sure you're ready to learn how to take your abilities to the next level. You won't have to wait anymore, sweetheart."

Marcus pulled her face into his neck and rested his chin upon her head and sighed in content. "We have lots to talk about but… I really wanted you to tell me about our blood. I've learned that we're royalty and …I just never knew. I want to know more about myself."

"We'll how about some mother-and-son time?" She lifted her head from his collarbone and looked up at him. '_How about my favorite pastime? Hot tub and chocolate cake – does that float your boat?'_

He laughed aloud and shook his head with a grin. '_Hokey, mom. Real hokey. Yeah. I know how you love hot water and chocolate cake. Look, how about we make a meditation date out of it? I'll get some candles or something. Do you want to invite… you know… your twin over there?'_

Krystal shrugged and patted Marcus' cheek with a smile. '_I'm not sure. Maybe. We have a lot to talk about, either way. Perhaps it should just be us at first. After we talk, we can invite her to join us and see if we can't make her feel like she belongs to some sort of family environment. It's been a long time since she's felt that way and I'm sure she needs it.'_

Kursed, from back by the shuttle, joined into the mental conversation. '_Indeed. It HAS been a long time since I've felt like I belonged somewhere. You two go on ahead and talk amongst yourselves. I'll join you within the hour. I need to have a private conversation with Panther to see if I can't get his head straight.'_

Fox patted his son on the shoulder then leaned to kiss his wife. "You two go on ahead. I assume Marcus has a lot of questions. I'm going to show our 'guests' to their quarters. Then Fara and I will start reviewing some of the sensor information we have in regards to this new… hostile character. We'll review logs and whatever else we can dig up."

Fara approached them. "Sounds like we're in for some digital detective work. I'm up for the case, Inspector."

McCloud grinned slightly at the fennec's humor. "Very good, Doctor. See me in my ready room in thirty minutes."

"Sounds like elementary to me," she replied. Fara turned to Marcus, kissed him softly then said, "You did real good down there. The snow, rescuing them, taking Panther down a notch or two… all of it. I'm really impressed at the man you've become." She kissed him again then said, "I'll see you this evening," she told him with a hint of promise in her eyes then nodded to Fox. She turned to Krystal, hugged her boyfriend's mother firmly and smiled. The two vixens had shared a mental bonding about a year ago, and since then they had become close friends. Fara offered a wink to her mate then headed up the hallway to her room for a long and much desired shower.

Marcus and Krystal waited for Panther and Kursed to catch up then turned at the intersection and headed down a different hallway. Fox grinned at Tricky, held up a finger as if to say, '_watch this'_ then, in a rather shocking display of outgoing friendliness, he stepped _between_ Panther and Kursed, placing his arms around _each_ of their shoulders. "Well, you two, I guess I should take each of you to your guest room. We have plenty of room on the carrier ship and, believe me, we're not lacking in guest quarters. Kursed, if that's what you still wish to go by, will get the first room closest to the flight deck. That way, if you need anything from your shuttle, it's not too terribly far away. Meanwhile, Panther gets a room up on the top floor near the sickbay just in case medical attention is needed for that broken nose. We're going to have a _great_ time!"

Caruso snarled and Kursed rolled her eyes, looking off to the left with a sigh. The King Earthwalker snickered softly, following the group. Meanwhile, Kursed asked, "Must you act as a chaperone?"

The feline shrugged Fox's arm away. "Panther wishes not to be touched, lest you find a bouquet of fresh roses at your door first thing in the morning."

McCloud grinned. "Cheer up, sour puss." Fox accented the last word as if to make a pun on a nickname infamous for felines. He gave Panther a firm swat on the shoulder and said, "Don't be such a homophobe. I'm married and you're a panty chaser. I think we're both confident in our sexuality, right pal?" He knew it was making Caruso uncomfortable and enjoyed having control over the situation. Typically, Panther was very sure of himself and would have played Fox's game right back but right now, with his nose broken and his pride recently shattered, he wasn't in the mood for games. He also wasn't in the mood to have Fox's arm around his shoulder.

On the other hand, Kursed was in the mood to reciprocate his faux friendliness. She leaned her head to the right and kissed the side of Fox's face. "Thank you for being a gentleman, Mister Fox McCloud. A lady appreciates being escorted to her door." She wanted to turn the tide on Fox and make him feel awkward for Panther's amusement. The ploy didn't work, however.

"Well, golly gee!" Fox eased his arm from her shoulder, rubbed his cheek gingerly then turned about and touched Panther's lips. "This must be for you. Pass it on!" He saw the feline wince from being touched so closely to where his nose had been broken. McCloud unwedged himself from between them and stopped at the first door on the left, merely a hundred feet from the flight deck. "Miss Kursed, this is your den. Since you're telepathic, you should be able to find your way up to where Krystal and Marcus are located, later on." He turned to Panther, clicked his tongue against his molars and hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "This way, Top Gun."

Tricky waited by Kursed's door just to provide the vixen a sensation of awkwardness. He stayed there until she went inside. He hurried his pace to catch up with Fox and Panther and followed with a boisterous step. "This place is way bigger than Marcus' ship! It's the size of a village if not bigger. I need to get one of these!"

"Yeah, right," Fox chuckled. "You're the King, bud. You can have your own palace, why settle for a ship?"

"Not to seem like a rude guest," Panther murmured, "But, with a splitting headache, it would be appreciated if you could simply remain chatter-free for a moment."

"Fine with me," said Fox with a shrug. He knew he was making Panther feel uncomfortable and that was his objective all along. "Commencing radio silence until further notice." Again, his words caused Caruso to sigh. They took the lift then went down the next hallway, passed the sickbay and turned to the very next room. Fox opened the door and gestured with his paw. "Your room, my good sir. I do hope you find your stay pleasant and the accommodations equal to or better than a royal suite found at the Lunar Stone Hotel. Dinner is at nineteen hundred hours and the pool closes for guests at sundown. Thank you for staying at Casa De McCloud." He stood there with a broad grin until Panther went into the room. The door slid shut with a thump.

Fox turned back to Tricky and shook his head. They began walking. In a soft voice, Fox said, "I hate that idiot. Anything I can do or say to make him feel awkward… Well, right now, I'm all about that."

"Do you guys really have a pool onboard?" Tricky's eyes gleamed with excitement.

McCloud furrowed his brows and scoffed. "Hell no, we don't have a pool onboard. This isn't a Phoenix Starliner – we're mercenaries not tourists."

"Are you going to stay a mercenary?"

A frown touched Fox's muzzle as they walked. "Now that her memories are back, I don't know _what_ to think. Last we talked, before she lost them, she said she wanted to retire and get snuggly in a cabin by the sea. She wanted a little garden and some flowers in a window box. Maybe I should get her a castle and she can live like a queen, huh?"

"If you're _nice_ to me for once, I might give you a small continent on Sauria," said Tricky. "You can rule there, if you like. I'll even get you that castle, if you want it."

The pilot snorted. "Oh please, give me a frickin' break." He got quiet for a moment then shrugged. "It's up to Krystal."

"She's the boss, huh? So it's like that, is it?"

Fox threw his paws up. "Thanks for reminding me why I treat you like a child. For a minute there I _almost_ forgot that you still _are_ one. C'mon, let's go upstairs so you can bother ROB."

Ignoring everything except the very last sentence, Tricky lit up. "Cool!" he exclaimed, boisterous with energy again.

* * *

**Marcus sank into the hot water** until its heat kissed his shoulders. He sighed softly, closed his eyes and tilted his head back. A cushion was fastened to the rim of the large hot tub and he murred at the back of his throat. "I need to get one of these on the cruiser. Now I know why Theodore wants one – have mercy, this is heaven."

Krystal, donning an unrevealing bathing suit, chuckled at her son and drew a plate into her paws with chocolate cake on it. "You know, a few days after I met your father… I was given the opportunity to reward myself with a hot bath and moist chocolate cake. I've decided, ever since then, that this combination was to be my guilty pleasure. It's quite possible you'll have both these ships one day soon then you can use this Jacuzzi as often as you like."

The candles and incense created a relaxing atmosphere. "I somehow doubt you had classrooms like _this_ on Cerinia."

"And I didn't have instructors as cool as _me_! Lucky you!" she added, forking off a bit of the cake. "You know, I'd really like to be spending some time with Fox right now – I'm not going to lie. Of course, you already knew that; you can surely sense it… but do you know why I decided to put our lesson and our relaxation first?"

Marcus nodded but kept his eyes shut. "Yeah. You want me prepared incase we come up against that hybrid Krazoa woman again." He put his feet against hers, beneath the water.

"Very much prepared," she told him. Her son opened his eyes, locking his gaze with hers. Krystal continued. "There's honestly no time to sit here and teach you the way I learned in a class room. We developed our minds with practice drills, warm ups, training exercises… all that stuff is time consuming and time is precious. The best way for you to learn is by joining our minds together and letting you experience my telepathic evolution by giving you access to my memories. You'll live vicariously through my memories of every time I've used my abilities, but be warned, Marcus, you may see more than you've bargained for. I want you to wake up from this joining and know how to ask me a question from the next planet over. I want you to have the ability to read what everyone is thinking while inside of a radiation bubble. I want you to have the ability to do…this." She placed her fork on the plate, holding it in her left paw. Her right one lifted and she opened her fingers. The fork trembled on the plate for a moment then lifted six inches. She closed her fingers around it then pushed the fork back into the cake, slicing off another small piece. "It's exhausting, I assure you… I can't lift much more than this fork for much further than I just displayed for you. However, my capabilities have been known to exceed this display. When I'm in a state of deep relaxation or when I'm acting on instinct, hopped up on adrenaline."

Marcus was absolutely stunned. "Doesn't Kursed have that ability?"

"She's far more proficient in the use of telekinesis than I am. I developed it over years of extremely light use. It wasn't intended. I've not known our people to make use of it, but there have been historically-yet-rare documented cases of it surfacing on Cerinia. My parents never displayed it. However, Kursed had parts of her brain replaced with plastic computer chips and technologically advanced hardware. She was dead for quite some time, so she'd experienced a measure of decomposing. Those parts were replaced with …whatever allows her to have a higher level of mental mastery. It's not quite as grueling to her. Extended use won't cause swelling. In fact, I'm surprised she gets headaches."

"I want to learn all of those things. I wish I could learn them properly but I'm more than willing to receive the understanding of these abilities mind-to-mind. Just show me how to practice using these abilities so I can continue to develop them."

"You know I will," she said, giving his foot a playful push. "Let me finish my cake, first. I would like to relax within the company of my son before my silly doppelganger shows up." She offered him a slight grin then took another bite of the decadent triple-layered fudge cake. Marcus could practically taste it due to their physical proximity. Krystal glanced up from the plate and thought, '_She's going to teach you how to use your telepathy offensively in order to defend yourself. It's a very dangerous practice and if that ability is abused there will be consequences._'

He nodded. "I understand. I'm curious, though… _IF_ I can learn through, uh, 'mental osmoses' in a sense… then why didn't _your_ teachers train you and other Cerinian children the same way?"

She returned a fresh forkful to her lips and directed her thoughts to her son. '_Marcus, if you woke up tomorrow with enormous muscles but didn't do anything to build them up… that would be hard on your body. If you went and lifted heavy objects for several hours, you would put a lot of strain on your joints and the muscle fibers because they weren't strengthened naturally. That's why we pull muscles when we do hard labor… because the truth is… muscle tissue is delicate. It tears, it knots, and when you pull something… it HURTS. I'm going to give you the knowledge of how to utilize your frontal lobe better but without experience you may do more harm than good. But at this point, being unable to protect yourself is much worse. I expect you to take this knowledge and be responsible with it. I expect you to meditate more, practice and warm up as often as you can… It's akin to doing stretches before you run a marathon.'_

He nodded slowly. "In other words, I'll be suffering from headaches if I overexert myself. If I take what you teach me and attempt the advanced stuff later this afternoon, I'm going to stress my mind to the point where I could theoretically have a stroke. Is that about right?" He changed his tone and asked, "So, when we join… what will I see?"

"Everything," she said, placing the fork back on an empty plate. She moved the crumb-covered dish to the edge of the tub, licked her finger and used it to capture the crumbs. She licked them from the slender digit then said, "I'm going to be honest with you… there is no way to filter out everything. Please understand that you'll see intimate things and you'll see personal things that may be painful to watch."

Marcus frowned. "The fight with dad, the breakup…" His heart dropped. "…Cerinia."

"When you wake up from this, Marcus, you'll feel like you've spent your childhood there. You'll know your grandparents as personally as I knew them. You'll know pain from every time my heart was hurt. You'll know love as I experienced it. You'll see yourself when you were born and better understand how much I love you. I can't filter those things."

"I thought I was just going to bond with you and…?"

"No, this is something far deeper. It's rare that our race ever needed to perform what we're about to do… In a mere hour, you'll have experienced my whole life. You'll know our rituals, our history, and our cultural ways. Marcus, it won't be easy on you – there's a great deal of emotional trauma and a lifetime of experiences that you'll be bombarded with all at one time."

"How is this different from when you bonded your mind with Fara last year?"

Krystal took a deep, relaxing breath and said, "I only saw the highlights. I didn't experience her every ache, or garnish personal experience from her. She has the frontal lobe to have performed such a joining but it's far too personal. Typically this is something that spouses do with one another; it's _very_ private."

"I understand," he murmured softly. "But now I'll know what you experienced when you were in that other dimension."

She nodded. "And I will know what _you_ experienced when you thought I was gone. We'll be cramming two lifetimes worth of memories into your mind. You may have headaches at first."

Marcus willed himself to relax as well. "Did you perform this with dad?"

"No." Before he could ask why not, she added, "Although I might. I know he's lost a great deal in his life. He's experienced very personal deaths – his family. Asking him to join with me and go through the emotions of losing my family… that would be difficult. Plus I don't want to burden him with mistakes I've made, and things I've not talked about."

"You mean like Panther Caruso… and being a monarch?"

She offered a sour face. "Precisely. But now that Panther has thrown it into his face… and now that I know he's taken such information gracefully… it will be time to share our experiences."

"I really don't want to see you _with_ Panther."

"We have little choice for me to expedite your abilities. Are you ready?"

"How long were you and him together?"

Krystal chuckled and scooted closer to him. "Stop worrying. I've been 'with him' fewer times than you have fingers on your paw. It'll be over and done in the blink of an eye. I don't even remember the details, so I doubt you'll be able to recall them either – you'll have so much crammed in your head at this point that you should be able to overlook it so long as you don't dwell on it." Krystal took his paw.

"I'm ready."

* * *

A/N: _Okay! Next time we see Marcus, he'll know a lot of crap. It'll be like he just read through the entire REFLECTIONS series and played all the games starring his parents. xD_

_For those of you who were curious what was different about Krystal and Kursed's experience on Kew in C12 of Regret… well, now you know! It's technically Fox's fault because he was five minutes too slow. Why? No reason why. Maybe stopped to take a leak before going to the bridge of GreatFox – no one knows. It's chaos theory. Even the slightest action can have unfathomable consequences. Also, I'll be explaining why Krystal suddenly gets her memories back – to be honest, I thought it was obvious. She's in proximity of that object in James' old fighter, sitting in the hanger of the GreatFox Carrier. And what of the cruiser section? Well, most likely, it's still in dry dock getting an engine-core refit. And getting guns installed. And there was a patch job done on the hull in the past; that's probably getting touched up. Leaving it in dry dock means the media still acknowledges that, "Marcus McCloud's ship is in orbit." So it helps make people think he's still dead. And Fox… basically everyone but Fara and Krystal are thought to be dead. xD Of course, Bill knows better. Miyu and Crimson know better… right now the team has that as part of their advantage. _

_Oh… and before I forget… Facebook, 'Kit Karamak'. See you there!  
__;)_

_Thanks for reading! _


	22. Frame of Mind

Chapter -22-  
"Frame of Mind"

**Marcus McCloud rubbed his fingertips against his temples**. Wrapped in a towel, the young man kept his eyes on the floor for a moment. His ears flickered, hearing his mother, Krystal, speak to her doppelganger, Kursed. "He didn't react that way after the joining with me. …Marcus? Are you alright?"

"Can't you sense that he's alright?" she replied to Krystal, adding, "He's just got to become mentally acclimated to this new conditioning. Remember, he now has the better part of three lifetimes crammed into his head. His hippocampus is probably swollen; don't think for a minute that he'll be the _same_ boy he was a little while ago."

Marcus kept his eyes on the ground. "Yeah, I now have a different respect for hot baths and chocolate cake." He feigned a slight smile at the joke he made. "But it doesn't mean I'll be _completely_ different." His eyes lifted slightly and he said, "So now that you're helping us to prepare for how to deal with this half-Krazoan woman… what should I call you? Aunty K.?" He offered a tired half-grin then said, "And this headache is no joke. I think I'm going to get some caffeine, aspirin and a shot of whisky to help."

Krystal furrowed her brows. "Whisky? With _aspirin_?"

Kursed placed a paw on Krystal's arm. "It will help the aspirin thin the blood. The caffeine will help open up the capillaries. I've been using that concoction to chase my headache pills for quite some time. I call it the 'migraine cocktail,' dear." She settled back into the hot tub then folded her arms. "Marcus, go get some rest. Your mother and I have some things to discuss."

"He's just as telepathic as we are," Krystal mused. "It's not like you're going to hide anything from him." She lifted her gaze back to Marcus and said, "Aspirin and alcohol together will be hard on your stomach, sweetheart."

Kursed tilted her head then pushed back a lock of purple hair. "Listen, sister, I was thinking of comparing notes. Girl time. For someone who wanted so badly to put her heritage in the past and embrace Cornerian life, you sure don't seem to know the meaning of 'girl time,' do you?"

Krystal smirked. "Be nice. You'd be a great deal better off if you weren't always so sarcastic with everyone around you."

The younger-looking vixen smirked in return then glanced back to Marcus. "Circulation may help with the swelling. I suggest you find that fennec and _fight_ her. That will help with the swelling."

Krystal rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to her, Marcus. Relax your mind; there's no reason to…" She paused, hearing his thoughts. "Perhaps you're right… maybe adrenaline will help. But there's other things you can do besides fighting."

Marcus fixed the towel, making it tight around his waist. "I think I _will_ go find Fara. And relax. And have a drink. I could use one after today." He then glanced over at his mother and said, "If she gives you any trouble, I'll be back here in an instant." His eyes cut to Kursed, adding, "And I'll do the job right this time."

Kursed lifted her paws from the hot water, shaking them in faux fright. "Ooo! I'm quaking in my fur!" She watched Marcus leave then turned back to Krystal. "That sounded horribly childish of me to have said… hmm. I must have caught that from him, which he obviously learned from you. The last thing I need is a lack of tact, passed along from my 'older' half. Gross."

"Oh hush," Krystal turned about and reached a paw out to try and bring another slice of cake from the counter across the room. The piece appeared to shake, causing the center to start separating.

"No, no, you're trying too hard and not focusing enough." Kursed lifted her paws from the water again as if using them to somehow channel her recently acquired abilities… the movement of her paws was all for show, though. The cake lifted from the plate, not spilling so much as a crumb as it floated through the air. It landed safely on Krystal's plate, sitting on the fork, which caused the handle to lift slightly from the counterbalanced weight of the cake that now sat on the fork's prongs.

A grin tugged at Krystal's muzzle. "Show off." She lifted her eyes to the semi-preening doppelganger across from her. "If we're to teach each other things, then you get a lesson from me in return." She lifted her left paw and focused, trying to relax her mind as Kursed had instructed. Another plate lifted, with a fork, sans the last piece of cake. It came across the room rather quickly only to be caught by Kursed, looking surprised at the velocity with which the plate and fork were brought to her. Krystal licked her lips in an almost apprehensive sort of way. "That …came in a little hot, didn't it? …Sorry, bear with me. Okay, so… your first lesson from _me _will be… how to respect yourself again and how to be happier."

"Indeed… Well, now," she paused and put her right fingers to her temple. "Marcus is taking my advice. Albeit with his own twist of style… good for him." She then reached for the last piece of chocolate cake and levitated it to her plate with grace and ease. "I've avoided this sort of food since Fox broke up with me… It's been a long time."

"It's about time you've experienced a guilty pleasure, then." Krystal grinned, sliding her fork into her own piece. "I saved the last of it for you, after all."

Kursed's eyes lowered to the baked confection then she looked away to hide a secret smile.

x-

* * *

**"Aren't you just brimming with confidence this evening,**" said Fara with a grin. She lifted her chin, giving Marcus access to her neckline and tensed each arm to test just how firmly he was holding them to the wall above her head. Her nose twitched and her grin widened. "Is that alcohol I smell on your breath?"

"Just a shot to take the edge off," he murmured against her throat, nibbling firmly. He thought to himself that he could be honest, mention the headache and the advice about getting his adrenaline up… but decided to be a little more romantic instead. "I just wanted to touch you again. We've spent all afternoon together and I wanted to touch you like I did the other night."

"No complaints here," Fara churred into his ear. Her warm breath caused the triangular protrusion to flicker. She lifted her left leg, sliding her calf muscle against his toned outer thigh. Her heart began to race. She'd initiated their romance last time… this time, he came right into the bedroom, swept her up and put her against the bulkhead as though it were the comfortable thing to do. She shivered at the sensation of his lips moving down her neck to her collarbone. "My, my… who gave _you_ the 'privilege card' mister?"

"Sometimes it's easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission," he told her in a hushed tone against her sandy brown fur. A grin touched his maw. "Then again, I don't think I'll ask _forgiveness_ this time, either." He pivoted on his heel, turning away from the wall. He felt Fara cling to him as he moved to the right. The grayish – light blue furred fox turned about and doubled over so that her back landed in the center of the mattress. He kicked his left shoe off then put his footpaw on the nightstand and pushed against it. They both slid up on the mattress, further from the edge of the bed. He felt her leg drape over his backside.

All at once, Marcus felt deeply compelled to kiss her. His lips pressed firmly against her own and without wasting any time, his tongue delved into her muzzle. He felt Fara's pulse quicken and he sensed her excitement. Being able to sense her meant that she would never need a 'safety word' and being able to trust him so deeply made it all the easier for her to love him… and he read it as if it were written on the pages of her soul. She pined for him and her desire fueled his own passion and want.

Marcus kissed her with the confidence of a lifetime's worth of romance. It suddenly became easy to be the one who took control and initiative. There was no nervousness or anything else. There was no blush to flush his face. There was desire and there was reaction. He released her wrists and she clung to him needfully. Marcus' lips returned to her neckline while his paws roamed her body with grace, skill and experience. He felt Fara's body arch upwards, against him, in reaction to the delicious touch.

** T**he evening for these two lovers was only just beginning. And, for a little while, Marcus was able to put aside all the trespasses and all the worry from a day's work. His thoughts were now completely on his mate and she gave him her undivided attention in return. Their passion helped relax one another. Halfway through their evening together, Fara leaned her head upwards to whisper, "Just so you know… I'm ovulating." The very notion of her words sent a chill down his spine. He never knew or expected Violet to have a son… but for Fara to make him feel apart of this possible outcome from the very beginning was intoxicating.

Marcus found his heart racing and his palms sweaty with excitement. They tried new things neither had ever experienced before and both found the experience exhilarating. He touched her, they shifted together as one writhing entity of love, and their bond grew beyond anything physical with every thrust, every kiss, every touch and every breath. Through his telepathy, he was able to experience something few men ever could… a woman's love. And with the ability to sense her feelings, he was able to reciprocate them in mind, body and soul.

x-

* * *

**Anezka Vacek traced her fingers over the words** carved on the wall. She sighed softly. "Father…" Her fingertips continued to trace the ancient Krazoan lettering then she frowned. "Why did you forsake me? All mother did was hurt your heart and you put her silly emotions over my own heartache. I sought retribution for her offense and you locked me away. She betrayed you, and you betrayed me… it's a malicious circle we've created for ourselves. I only wish she were still alive on that planet so I could take even greater pleasure in destroying it."

"This is not what I had in store for you," came an inviting, masculine voice. The paternal sounding voice was melodic in nature, giving it some measure of tangible warmth. She knew her father's race rarely displayed such things as feeling, although the Krazoa were known for their inviting personality and disarming nature to a degree. But they were also known for being logical and putting intellectual conversation before emotional feelings… yet she felt as though it was her father speaking in physical form to her. Anezka turned from the flat wall with the markings and faced the wraithly image.

"The Krazoan mind was not designed to handle the imperfect notions of mother's hormones or emotion. Her race's selfish thoughts. Her race's ignoble deeds. Her race's lack of logic, compassion… her race's emotional outbursts… You've made me a freak; why did you do this to me?"

The spirit towered over Anezka but lowered to one knee, coming almost face to face with her. "I loved her. As you know, our race doesn't experience emotion easily, despite the fact that we gravitate towards those with pure hearts. Her race is also capable of compassion, honor, trust and love. It was my first experience with such a sensation and I came to adore it. I knew we weren't genetically compatible but it didn't matter. Her race was coming from a system where the world was dying… I knew our race had the technology to terraform a world… so we created one on the fourth rock from the central star. It was beautiful; almost as beautiful as the first planet from the star but not quite as large."

"I don't know how to handle what you've made me," she sneered. "I'm an abomination. If her world was dying, why did you give her another one to destroy? She told me when I was young that her people destroyed their home planet with pollution and spite and malice… the world was uninhabitable! You GAVE them another world and she LEFT US for it. Some _mother_ she turned out to be! You wouldn't know how rejection feels but I can tell you that it stings."

"Anezka, you're the last of the Krazoa. Perhaps it is within your power to bring us back from the grave with the DNA we've placed into the vault? Didn't you know that we, too, nearly destroyed our own world with pollution and a complete disregard for how much punishment a planet can take? I gave her people a second chance."

She balled her fists up in aggravation. "Our people learned from our mistakes because we aren't handicapped by our emotions the way they are! That's why I hate what you've made me! The Krazoa were benevolent… but you inadvertently made me on the verge of being malevolent!"

The spirit sighed again. "There are some things you don't know, which occurred after you were put into stasis."

"Like what?" Anezka's eyes gleamed with a purple glow, like all of her people before her 'slumber.'

"After you were gone, and after she was settled on the new world, she came back to us. She was distraught that her only daughter had to be put down. She begged me to try again, saying she would give anything to have another chance at motherhood. She swore that she would do things better this time by giving the child more attention than she gave to you." He saw her about to speak then lifted a hand to stop her. The Krazoa spirit continued his explanation. "Her people began to die from a virus that the Krazoa were naturally immune to… and our people were dying from an anomaly in our brains, triggered by something that occurred in space. Our people agreed to combine our genetic traits with her people… all children born from that point on were infused with a quarter Krazoan DNA. She gave birth to another daughter, who became the mother of that race. She named the baby, "_**Corneria**_."

"Bull! Corneria's people aren't a million years old! I've done some research over the last twenty-four hours and learned that they've only inhabited that planet for about ten thousand years!"

The Krazoan spirit smiled in reply to her. "It's time I tell you the story of what happened to your mother's people after you were put into stasis." He moved near to the woman who was his 'daughter', back when he lived a physical life. "They left this system for a while and went out to colonize other worlds… then returned to this system. Our people were numbered at six left, including myself… the architects of this system, we used the power of the spellstones to change our bodies to non-corporeal beings. We watched as your mother's race returned to this system, tired and weary from their generations of travel… they were looking for a place to settle and returned to this star system, looking to root themselves. Their people were divided and some settled on a planet known as Kew. Some settled on a planet known as Cerinia. Due to thousands of years of passing down history, it's been distorted and is misunderstood but that is what happened. The people that returned to this system settled on several planets, throughout this star-system. They named the fourth world from the star after a name that was so historical that it was written of in _their_ scriptures at the time. Corneria. The leader of the people who returned to this system was a direct descendant of your mother."

"And what was that mortal's name? Did it have any significance?"

The ghostly image nodded then stood up. "Indeed it did. His name was _**Lylat**_. He left Corneria and came to _this_ world to speak with _us_. He stayed on _this_ planet until he passed away from age. His people, who never heard from him again, thought he may have disappeared in space and so they named the system after him. To this day, the modern people of this star system refer to it as, "Lylat," Anezka. They may no longer know the stories, and the scriptures of that ancient culture have been long forgotten… but they still live. I've watched as the worlds went to war with one another, made peace and _fell away_ from technology. They went for _four millennia _without technology. Space travel was forgotten. Then their ancestors rediscovered it all… went to war again, made peace… and recently they've begun to return to _this_ world. They've named it "Sauria," darling. I've made almost no contact with any of them except a female from Cerinia and a male from Corneria, which happened a few decades ago. It's not my place to tell them of things that were lost and forgotten by time; after all, ancient Cornerians decided to let go of Technology on purpose. They even went so far as to tunnel out several systems of caves below the Cornerian surface to hide when wars broke out. Those people have, at the very least, retained the important parts of their culture and that's all that matters in the end."

"You're not even real, your body died ages ago. So far as I'm concerned, you _could_ be a million year old _computer program_ that will eventually fail." She paused and looked around, as if looking for holo-emitters but found none. "I have never seen a ghost before and I'm not sure that I believe the last six Krazoa became spirits but no one else…"

He reached a hand out and touched her. It caused the light veneer of fur on her body to stand up. His hand passed through her and she shuddered from the sensation. Seeing her reaction was good enough of a reason to drop the subject. "I thought I was the last of the Kraoza, darling daughter… but it is good to see that our DNA has survived through you. Because you're half mammal, you won't fall prey to the degradation that slowly ravaged the Krazoa for their ability to live for so long."

"So what happened to the Children of Lylat."

"You've already met them," said the spirit of her father. "The two that you rescued inadvertently from being crushed by debris… those are the two that came back to this world after so many generations apart. I inhabited the body of the blue-furred female from Cerinia. She was a lovely woman and I inhabited both her and her husband a number of years later and helped him restore his memories a number of years later (_Reflections of Regret_). They're both noble creatures. Worthy of the ancestry in their DNA. However, they have very little in common with their ancestors, like the people that were gifted with the Krazoan DNA, so long ago. But after so many generations, it's not quite prevalent anymore. But it means that the people of Corneria and the people of Cerinia and the people of Kew are genetically compatible. Marcus McCloud is proof of that."

"Who?" She lifted her hands abruptly. "It doesn't matter. I need to verify what you're saying. I know where the vault is located. It's beneath the Force Point Temple. I can clone the Krazoa race and bring them back. But first I will infuse them with a small, small amount of Cornerian DNA to ensure that they can survive whatever killed them the first time since the Cornerian people seem to be immune to it. The Krazoa should be the surviving race, not the Cornerian people. If I succeed in resurrecting the Krazoa, I will have no need for the Cornerian people. I will destroy them."

"Anezka…"

She smiled inwardly. "You can't stop me. Even if you possess my body, you cannot control me. All you can do is watch. Don't worry, though… I'll bring back a body for you to inhabit and perhaps you'll be able to do a better job of raising me this time."

He sighed in disappointment. "Anezka… don't be foolish. They've done nothing to you. They're good people. Not all of them are good but… as a whole, they've done nothing wrong."

"The Krazoa have never gone to war with one another. That's who should survive. Not them. Our people were served by the reptiles that now inhabit this planet and the first planet from the sun. I will appeal to them and lead them in the destruction of the mammal race. From what I understand, they've gone to war with the mammals dozens of times. Now will be no different. They will help me."

"Anezka, I forbid this foolishness!"

"You can thank me later, father." She looked around the Krazoa Temple. "In the research I've done, in the last twenty four hours… Legend has it that if the pure of heart takes control of the Krazoa Spirits, they can doe a world of good… of a person with unpure intentions takes control of the spirits… they can do a great deal of dark deeds. I now control the Krazoa Palace. MY will shall be done." She stepped onto an elevator platform, which lifted her up to the hallway that led out to the grand chapel, rubbing her palms together. "I shall now travel to the first planet from the sun. I do believe the modern inhabitants call it, 'Venom.' I shall appeal to their people to follow me. The reptiles only every understood power… I shall show them power and they will accept me as their leader above all else. Watch, father. Watch what your daughter is capable of!"

"Your sister never knew you," he said, following her into the enormous central section of the Palace. "But Corneria would have been heartbroken by the way you turned out. She was the kindest, softest and most humane woman ever known. Her husband was the truest and most noble being and they ruled this star system with kindness and mercy. They showed the reptiles how to advance their civilization to live without needing Krazoan benefactors. She was capable of so much and, you too, are capable of amazing things. Don't do this."

Anezka's eyes shimmered a deep violet. "Hush, father. You're dead, you cannot make good judgment without a physical mind. I will resurrect the Krazoa and that's all there is to it. You said Corneria was the mother of a new race… now _**I**_ shall be the mother of a new race." She smiled brightly, having an idea. "Since I am part mammal, I am immune to whatever has harmed both races in the past… So I shall infuse the newly created Krazoa with _my_ DNA. You shall be the grandfather of a master race."

Again, the spirit looked down and frowned. "As you wish, Anezka." His form disappeared.

x-

* * *

**Krystal and Kursed both blinked and looked at one another.** Krystal was the first to ask the question, '_Did you hear that?_'

Kursed nodded and perked an ear as if trying to listen for a physical sound. Again, Krystal thought the words, '_I recognize that voice. It seems like it's been years since I've heard it, though.'_

"Not nearly as long for me," said Kursed aloud. "Remember, my memories haven't yet returned. It's the voice of the Krazoan spirit that inhabited our body when we arrived to Cerinia. I don't know if he can leave Krazoa, let alone the Krazoan Palace. Perhaps we can work together to channel him. If not, we'll have to go back to the planet's surface and seek him out. It sounded as though he's in distress."

Krystal nodded this time. "Agreed. Perhaps, just to be safe, we should go there in person anyhow. Summoning the spirit of someone doesn't seem quite as easy as summoning another telepath."

Kursed rubbed her chin. "I understand the Krazoa were capable of teleportation, telekinesis, telepathy and that's why the Kew and Cerinians had capabilities similar to the Krazoa. Sad that the Cornerians didn't focus their minds or develop their abilities."

Krystal smiled inwardly. "Then that means Marcus won't be inhibited by being half-Cornerian. It's all the same DNA if you're right. That means if he puts his mind to it, he can achieve just as much as you or I can achieve… perhaps he can do even more."

"Perhaps, in time, if he focuses himself. But he doesn't have the training that we grew up with, Krystal. Come, let's speak with your mate then we'll head back to the planet's surface."

"Splendid. Doing a mission together might be exactly what we need in order for you to see that we are, in fact, a team."

Kursed smirked. "Should we invite Panther and Fox?"

"No," said Krystal. "Let's have them watch us for now. If something happens and we need help, they'll be able to come for us." She offered a grin and, in thought, added, '_Let's try not to get stuck in a prism again. I do detest the thought of being a damsel in distress again.'_

"Fair enough." Kursed stepped from the hot tub, took two towels, one for herself and one for Krystal. She then cloaked herself in the first towel and took another for herself, to wrap her hair up into a cloth bun. "Let's stop by the armory first. And because we're going back to Sauria, we should both take our staffs with us. Mine is in Marcus' room. He's with Fara so… I won't disturb him. I'll get the staff, you get yours from your room and I'll meet you on the flight deck with a few weapons. You get a second set of clothing, tents and other things we'll need. Also tell the boys where we'll be going and I'll see you there in thirty minutes."

Krystal nodded. '_See you there._'

x-

* * *

**Fox stood on the bridge**, watching the shuttle, belonging to Kursed, as it sunk into the Saurian atmosphere. His ears perked, hearing a tone from a nearby station. His eyes cut to the left, half expecting to see Peppy Hare manning the station. Instead, Vivian was at the seat. She glanced back at Fox and said, "There's a second object leaving the planet's surface on the far side. I can't get a visual."

Fox nodded. "Move into position; I wanna see what's going on over there."

"Moving now," the voice belonged to Theodore. "It _might_ be the shuttle I chartered to come pick us up when _our_ GreatFox is finished. But… I've not heard anything from Corneria about our ship being ready yet."

Vivian shook her head. "No, whoever it is, they're _leaving_ Sauria."

Fox folded his arms. "We'll know soon enough." He kept his eyes on the viewscreen. After another few minutes, they moved around the planet, able to see a glint of Solar in the distance. "Zoom in, let's find whatever just left the planet if we can. Activate long range scanners."

Vivian punched a few buttons on the panel at her station then said, "I only picked something up for a fraction of a second, then it was gone. Let me rewind the footage and augment it." She brought up a split screen image on the main viewer, one side was real time, the other side showed a time segment with numbers at the bottom. She scrolled backwards then played it in slow motion with an enhanced digital zoom mode activated. The object looked like some sort of probe. "It's about the size of a person."

Slowly, Fox approached the screen then squinted at it. "What in the heck _is_ that thing? It's small, but it's moving at an insane velocity. Can we talk to someone at one of the colonies?"

"One sec." Vivian started tapping on buttons again then partitioned the view screen to show three sections. The one on the far right showed a Cornerian.

"Can we help you, Mercenary craft?"

"Yes, this is," Fox paused, realizing that they were supposed to be lying low, "Captain… James of Galaxy Dog. We noticed that some sort of small probe was just launched from Sauria's surface. It left the planet at a high rate of speed and went into hyperspace without a jumpgate. I wanted permission to sequester data from one of your satellites to see if there was any images caught on file."

"The satellites don't belong to us, Galaxy Dog. You'll have to ask permission from Corneria's Interplanetary Stellar Cartography division."

A frown marred Fox's muzzle. "That could take days…" He nodded and said, "Thanks anyway," then gestured to Vivian to cut the feed. The view screen returned to only two partitions. McCloud turned to Theodore and asked, "Is there any way we can…?"

Theodore lifted his hand with a grin. "Say no more. Just give me a few minutes to hack in. ROB can help me break the cypher code to establish access."

Fox rubbed his chin then nodded. "Call me when you find something. I'm going to talk to our guest and see just how long Mister Caruso plans on staying aboard." He left the bridge and headed down the long corridor, towards the guest quarters. A moment later his personal communicator went off. "Fox here."

Theodore's face hovered above Fox's left arm. "Hey, Mister McCloud. ROB was quicker than I thought… we're already in and we've accessed the very last data image. It was a good hunch – there's a pretty good closeup shot of a woman _flying_ without a ship. Hold tight." The image showed up above his wristband computer and slowly rotated in a circle.

Fox's eyes widened slightly. "Anezka…" He licked his lips then said, "Thanks. I'll be back at the bridge in a few minutes. Stand by." McCloud continued down the hall and opened Panther's door. "Hey, Caruso… I was going to see if you were ready to leave yet… but something came up and I'm going to need your help."

Panther looked up from a plate of pasta and tilted his head. "Just _us_?"

"Yeah. Just… us." Fox cut his eyes to the left and frowned at the thought of how awkward this would be. He took a deep breath then said, "Remember the chick that woke up after Kursed set off her bomb underground? That chick just _flew_ off the planet. She didn't even use a ship. She just… flew into space and went to hyperspace. Which means she left a hyperspace wake trail. I want to follow her. Get your gear; I'll use the Instant Transmission pad to send you down to your fighter then you can meet me in orbit and we'll follow the trail. We'll have to use a jump gate, obviously, but I want to find out where she's going."

"What if the girls need us?"

"Marcus and Fara are here. Vivian, Lucy and Theodore, too. This woman is dangerous and you and I… well, we're seasoned fighters. Get your gear and head down to the hanger bay. Then I'll meet you in orbit."

"Fair enough. I'll see you in orbit in fifteen minutes." Panther picked up the plate of pasta and put it into a fridge then added, "Waste not; want not." He left the guest room and brushed past Fox. "See you soon."

Fox frowned. "Yeah… you, too."

x-

* * *

**Kursed and Krystal looked at one another** then back up at the huge stone statue. Kursed folded her arms. "He wasn't working last time I was here."

"Same," murmured Krystal then she cleared her voice and lifted a large chunk of limestone that had been cut from the wall with a weapon. Kursed helped her to lift it high. "This time I brought you something, please… we need your help! It's raining too hard at the Krazoa Palace to land there."

The stone figure suddenly became animated. He reached down and snatched the limestone square from their small paws and popped it into his mouth. "MMmm! That was QUITE nice! I cannae complain with such a present from two wee lass' like yourselves!"

"Incidentally," Kursed said, "How do the dinosaurs get to that palace when they need to protect it?"

"I 'dunno lass. Ask'em for yerself. They're there now, although I cannae teleport them, m'self. Is that where you wish to go?" He lowered both of his hands and each vixen stepped into one of his palms.

"Quite so." Kursed folded her arms.

"We greatly appreciate your help, Mister Warpstone."

"Aye. Hold on!" And with that, he closed his palms into fists and both girls disappeared.

In a matter of minutes, they appeared in the rain at the front gates of the palace, high in the sky. Krystal lifted her left forearm, shielding the rain from her face. "Did he say the Earthwalker tribe was already here for some reason?"

"I think so," Kursed replied back, speaking loud over the roar of the rain. She then clenched her jaw and thought, '_Krystal, I don't see ANYone. Maybe he was mistaken? I don't sense the dinosaurs, either._' They made their way down a small ramp onto another platform and looked up at a mezzanine over them then continued forward to the main entrance. The massive doors were half-ajar with water becoming a puddle in the main hall.

Both women stepped inside and shook hard to dry their fur. Krystal ran her paws back through her hair then down over her face. She used the backside of her wrists to dry her eyes then looked around. Her nose twitched…

"I know _that_ smell," Kursed muttered, following the scent with her doppelganger in pursuit. The two vixens made their way into the next grand hall. Both stopped in the door, shocked to silence. _Sixteen_ bodies of sixteen Earthwalkers were strewn about the marble floor. Krystal gasped and Kursed remained stoic, narrowing here eyes slightly. "Pardon my language but… what the fuck happened here?"

Krystal placed a paw on Kursed's shoulder and gave her a brief look. "That wasn't necessary. Let's investigate. I don't sense any of them; it's possible that at least one might be alive but unconscious."

"Didn't you sense that distress call earlier?" Kursed snapped. "If someone killed all these warrior dinosaurs, then whatever is after the Krazoa spirits needs attention _now_. We'll come back later… it's going to take both of us to survive this. C'mon."

Krystal bit her lower lip. "Very well." She navigated around the bodies and stepped onto an elevator block. After a few seconds, the pad levitated up to another level and they stepped into the next hallway together. At the end of the hall, they turned left and followed that hallway out to the palace's grand 'Great Hall'. Six bodiless specters floated down from above, surrounding the two females.

"We're here to off our help," said Krystal. "We've passed your test in the past and stand ready to help in any way we can."

"You both must be tested again." The lead spirit formed a ghostly body and stood before them, but at a mere seven feet. His billowing robe surrounded him, from the neck to the floor.

"Very well. But if there's an immediate danger here then it would be wise to take these tests somewhere safe, and…"

Kursed lifted a paw to silence her other half. "Forget it. If they're going to make us chase after a silly image inside of a silly basket again, we don't have time for their game."

All at once, both women were completely ensnared within gloom. Images of their past, parents, lovers and enemies played out before them. When the veil of shade lifted from them, Krystal stood strong with her paws folded over her heart. She panted softly, trying to calm her racing heart. She glanced over at Kursed. The woman was on her knees, cowering like a small child. She knelt adjacent to Kursed and wrapped her arms around her. To her surprise, Kursed pushed her head against Krystal's bosom, sobbing softly.

Krystal swallowed and thought, '_That was horrific. I felt so lonely and yet it was only a few seconds long… I focused on my husband and my son.'_ She looked up at the Krazoa then back down at the woman who trembled in her arms. "You're okay… you're safe now." She began to gently pet the other woman's headfur. "Shh, just relax. It's over."

"Th-they're right… I've killed _my_ Fox. I'm going to be alone forever. I'm going to _die_ alone."

"Stop that right now," said Krystal in a stern voice. "Panther is enamored with you. Plus, you can make amends by living a better life. You're far from the grave and you have plenty of time to reinvent yourself."

Kursed looked up with wide, doe eyes, her facial fur matted down with tears. "I… Perhaps I should return to my own dimension when I'm finished here. I can't fix what I've done but I can return to Kew in that world. I can find Darius; his wife died. If Fox and I were compatible, I may be compatible with him as well. He's watched over my family and myself… I trust him."

"I… Don't know if his culture will allow it."

"He's the only man I've not killed. That has to account for _something_." Kursed rubbed her face again then sat the rest of the way up and sighed. "Perhaps you're right… it's not his culture to mate with a telepath but… I would like to search him out and apologize for what I've done, even if it means standing trial."

"Is Kew still intact in your universe?"

Kursed licked her lips apprehensively. "Actually, I still don't remember anything after the Anglar invasion ended. I… I don't know." She sat back on her haunches, panting softly, still unable to catch her breath or calm herself. "That was …intense."

Krystal lifted her eyes to the six spirits. "You've humbled her further. Do you deem us worthy?"

The lead spirit said, "Her sorrow and grief run deep. She doesn't remember all of her atrocities, but her soul is still sullied by her past actions. However, she _has_ been healed. However, in order to remain healed, she has to be made aware of her past transgressions. She has to remember everything."

Kursed's eyes widened. "I no longer wish to remember all I've done. I'm not that person anymore."

The spirit moved towards her. "Your test is the most challenging that we've ever issued. If you can be given your memories yet retain what you've become in these recent days… then your heart will regain its purity. You'll have to live with the knowledge of what you've done and what you've become but …if you can master your emotions and if you refuse the temptation to backslide, we will deem your heart worthy and pure. And you will become a better person from it… and your heart will guide you to find true love and harmony will be restored to your life. Do you accept?"

Kursed swallowed and nodded in silence. The spirit moved over her, enshrouding her body. She suddenly went to the floor, wrapping her arms around herself. She shrieked in horror then covered her face with her arms, tucking her knees up to her chest. Krystal watched, paws over her muzzle in dismay. Kursed wrapped her tail around herself, sobbing hysterically. She began shouting, "No! PLEASE! NO!" as she was forced to relive her iniquitous past. She then sat up, wide eyed. "FOX!" And, all at once, she fainted. The spirit lifted from her form. Krystal ran to her side and knelt down, cradling the woman's head into her lap.

Kursed was unresponsive. Krystal quickly fidgeted through her gear pack until she found a handheld scanner. She flipped it open with her thumb-claw then scanned Kursed. A look of dismay crossed her face. "Dear God, she's had a mild stroke." Krystal closed the scanner. The lid had a StarFox emblem on it, with an Arspace Dynamics trademark symbol at the bottom of the cover. She stuffed it back into her bag. "She needs medical attention. What do you need of us? Why have you summoned us and who killed the Earthwalker tribe on the first floor?"

The spirit appeared to lower to one knee. "Krystal, the love for and from your family… the love you hold so dear in your heart… is what held you together through our test. While this other one failed the test, we have no alternatives as we'll need the help of you both. If it were her alone, we would have let her leave and sent her back to the outside of the temple. But with you to guide her, we believe that you can help purify her heart with your kindness and patience. So we've chosen to invest ourselves into you both. She's capable of dark deeds and it will be up to you to keep her on the path of righteousness. Then it will be up to you both to stop Anezka and her newly acquired forces."

"I understand and accept your mission. She's very powerful, though. Perhaps my son could help me instead of her?"

"Marcus McCloud has a different destiny."

Kursed groaned, bringing her paws to her temples. "If… if I can help you stop Anezka… I need your help in returning to my universe… so I can… find true love." She winced from the incredible headache, struggling to maintain consciousness from the pain.

"Very well," said the spirit. "But I must ask you both something that is very important."

Krystal nodded. "Anything."

The spirit lifted to a standing position. "Anezka is my daughter. I ask that you do _not_ kill her. Please."

Krystal brought her left paw to her mouth for a moment then lowered her palm to her heart. "I… will do whatever it takes to stop her in a way that is non-fatal. Perhaps we can put her into stasis on Eledard or… maybe we can simply change her heart or send her to another system, elsewhere in the galaxy where she can be alone with her thoughts… whatever it is we have to do… we'll figure it out and do it."

"Very well." The Krazoa lifted his hands from his robes and made a gesture. Krystal tilted her head, having never seen their hands before… but before she could think further on the issue, two flanking spirits rushed forward, invading their bodies. Both Krystal and Kursed were blown apart and floated above the floor as if submerged in water.

Each woman's eyes glazed over in a soft violet glow. They slowly descended back to the floor, lying still for a moment. Krystal got up and looked around but the other four spirits were gone. She hurried over to Kursed, whose head still ached. "Are you okay?"

"Shh… my head hurts."

A frown married Krystal's expression. '_I'm sorry… is this better?'_

Kursed groaned, holding her head. "No, no, stop… my head is killing me."

Krystal knelt down and slipped her head beneath the other woman's arm, helping her up. "You had a mild stroke. I'm not sure how your new brain works but it may repair itself. Let's get you back to the GreatFox and, if necessary, we'll return you to Dash so he can make sure you'll be alright."

"No… Venom is clear across the galaxy. The planets are nearly lined up, save three… we'll settle for GreatFox. I have a feeling this is larger than both of us?"

Krystal paused then scanned her doppelganger's mind and frowned. "You think that Anezka is the great evil that Marcus and his children will have to battle in the future?"

A nod was offered from Kursed, along with a frown. "The Oracle foretold it to him in his dreams. You and I bonded our minds with his. He saw our past, we saw his. And in his past, he had a dream where the Oracle came to him and told him he would fight a being of… evil." (_Chapter 11, New Generation_) Kursed brought her paws back to either side of her head and let Krystal help her to her feet. "I need to rest before we hurry off to 'stifle' this creature. From what I understand, Marcus will fight it as well and put it into some sort of dormancy and his children will defeat it for good."

Krystal's lower lip trembled. She helped Kursed up and led her carefully back towards the hallway. "And one of my grandchildren will die in the battle."

Kursed frowned again and nodded. "Yes… an awful fate, no doubt." She swallowed and closed her eyes, letting Krystal lead her. "Will it be the child of Violet or the child of Fara?"

"Let's not think on it right now," said Krystal. "We have to focus on getting you back to GreatFox before you get worse. I can't believe Anezka destroyed those Earthwalkers …Tricky will surely mourn them."

"They're unimportant. We have to hurry," said Kursed.

"No," said Krystal. "Every life is sacred. You know that, in your heart, they should be mourned. Don't lose sight of your humanity or you're a lost cause." She took hold of Kursed's clothing at the hip and strained to keep her up. She felt empowered by the spirit inside of her body and continued to walk with her, keeping the other woman on her feet. "Keep going, Kursed. We can make it back to the shuttle, just keep your chin up, hon."

"I'm… I'm trying, Krystal. And… you're right. I'm sorry. I'm exhausted."

"I know, but it's not too much further. You can do it, girl."

Kursed tried timing her steps with Krystal's own… they stepped onto the platform, which lowered as if by magic. She could see the bodies, down below. Kursed flinched, having a brief flashback to when she killed the dinosaur protectors on Sauria in her old dimension. She closed her eyes again, feeling the lids well up with her tears in disgust. "I'm going to be sick."

"Pardon? Are you…?"

Kursed doubled over, falling to her paws and knees. She immediately vomited, right there on the levitating platform. She continued to do so for several moments until she was left dry heaving, gasping for air. Krystal helped her up, half-dragging the younger-looking female back towards the entrance to the palace.

"Not much longer to the ship, sweetie. You can make it. Just hold it together a little longer. We're a team now."

Meanwhile, Kursed was on the verge of passing out. "Kill me," she begged. "I can't live with what I've done. Entire worlds destroyed…! Please, I don't deserve to live," she sobbed, now a broken shell of a woman with a broken heart. "Please, I can't… I see the bodies of those I've… This isn't me!"

Krystal kept her paws around the woman's waist, still half-dragging her towards the main entrance. "We're almost there." She made her way through the large double doors and stopped to rest. The rain poured over them, matting down their fur. Kursed fell back to her knees then dropped onto her side, crying hysterically. The rain masked her tears but couldn't stifle the sobs and wretching choking. All Krystal could do was to kneel down and hold her. After a moment, their bodies began to glow… and all at once the Krazoa Palace faded. Krystal and Kursed found themselves, soaking wet, in the Thorntail Hollow, adjacent to the shuttle. It's ramp was still lowered, resting in the grass by Kursed's head.

"C'mon, I'll fly us home. You rest, okay? You're not going to die – you're going to make up for all the bad things you've done in your life by living an honest, pure and loving life. Promise me."

"I can't go on," she said, looking up with dark circles under her eyes. Krystal could see the sunken dark sinuses cavities through the woman's blue fur.

"You look like hell. We'll get you cleaned up on the GreatFox. C'mon, let me help you up the ramp." Krystal dragged her up into the shuttle and brushed the backside of her paw against the airlock controls. The ramp recessed into the shuttle's body and the hatch shut, creating a pressure seal. Krystal continued to drag Kursed across the deck to the bathroom behind the cockpit. She pulled the vixen to the standup shower booth and turned on the warm water. Grass stains and wet dirt, from where Kursed had to be dragged towards the ship moments ago, began to wash away.

"There, there, now… You're going to be fine, I promise."

Kursed continued to choke on sobs. Between hiccups, she said, "You s-still need to work on that t-tact. Y-you're cheesy as ever," she said, ending on a hiccup.

"Goodness, you've got yourself so worked up that you can't even breathe right."

Kursed took Krystal by the collar. Her eyes were wide and full of tears. "I _murdered_ the man I _love_, followed by _countless others_! I'm nothing more than the foulest… _creature_ …I have this beast in my heart that yearns to be free and take over. I should be put _down_ like the _monster_ that I am!"

McCloud drew her paw back and slapped Kursed across the face hard. Kursed looked up, shocked and confused, not having sensed the stinging strike. Krystal lifted a finger right in front of the other woman's face. "You'll buck up and live with it! What's done is DONE! You dishonor their memory by GIVING UP! Would FOX want you to give up? NO! Suck it up and help me stop Anezka Vacek; honor the memory of your _victims_ by doing something _noble for a change_, do you UNDERSTAND?"

Kursed, for the first time since Krystal met her, looked terrified. She nodded slowly, her vibrant purple eyes still wide. Shower water ran down over her face, soaking her clothes further.

Krystal folded her arms and stood up, looking down at the youthful looking version of herself. "I know you're capable of more. You're me. I hold you to the _highest_ standard. I know you'd make a good wife, a good mother and a _damn_ _good_ pilot."

"She's right." The voice came from behind, startling both vixens. They glanced back at the entrance to the shuttle's bathroom. Darius Vai stepped into the small room, leaning on his elegant, stylish cane. "Kursed, you're capable of anything. You've survived the destruction of your race. You've stood up and fought to save billions against the Aparoids and Anglars. You've risen, time and time again, to the occasion. You've been a champion of the heart all your life until recently. And when those memories were lost, however brief, you made incredibly positive strides because… at your core… you _are_ greater than the sum of your reflections."

Kursed licked her lips, spit out a bit of water, which drooled down her chin only to be washed away, then she said, "Darius… to answer your question from before… I spared Kew. I destroyed many, many hunters… but I spared the watchers."

He offered a thin smile. "I see."

She shook her head slowly. "I told them I wanted them to 'watch' as I destroyed everything. I told them I wanted them to feel helpless as they watched the universe crumble around them… but… nevertheless, I spared them. I spared you."

He nodded slowly. "Understood. Did my wife die in that universe, too?"

She bit her lower lip and nodded. "Same as here, you have children. But on that world, you were shamed because your 'subject' turned into the harbinger of death. But once the hunters were unable to kill me, people forgot your 'failure' and saw me with eyes of fear. But… I'm not that person anymore. I don't want to be that person any longer."

Darius offered a soft smile and stepped into the shower stall and put a hand on her face. "Then make us proud. Krystal, myself, Fox… Marcus, all of us… make us proud of you." He stood up, adjusted his tie then shifted his weight onto his cane again. "Ladies, I came here to tell you that Anezka has reached Venom. She imprisoned Dash Bowman and your friend, Asper Sarnoff. …Along with many others. She has displayed her power and the Sharpclaw Tribe recognizes her Krazoan features, bowing to her mightiness. Now, after less than a full hour, her name is sweeping over Venom like a powerful storm. Her intentions are to destroy Lylat as you know it and make it into her vision… something far darker than Miss Kursed desired recently. She must be stopped and Venom's uprising must be quelled. And you must hurry before it's too late. She's already taken control of Dash's core base. The reptiles dropped their arms and joined her without resistance. They believe she is the spirit of Andross reborn and she is their champion. We cannot allow this to happen. Her next target, after Lylat, is Kew."

Kursed bit her lip. "I guess I inadvertently _saved_ Lylat and Kew in my old universe… I destroyed Sauria and, with it, I inadvertently killed Anezka."

Krystal turned back to her doppelganger and narrowed her eyes. "Just the same, your intentions were ignoble and now we're going to do things the right way. With an open heart and a clear mind. NO MORE past, Kursed. You're not that woman anymore. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. You're young again. You're starting over. Stop reflecting on the past, do you understand?"

Kursed nodded slowly, almost pathetically. "Yes. I do. It was another life time. I've been resurrected… reincarnated… and now I'm a different person."

A smile touched Krystal's lips. "There, that's a good girl. How's your head?"

She murmured, "Hurts like hell."

"I'll leave you both to your mission. Take care." Darius left the bathroom and, once he was out of sight, he teleported off the shuttle.

Krystal McCloud stood up and said, "Take a few minutes to clean yourself up. I'll fly us back to GreatFox. If I sense even the slightest intent to harm yourself… I'll kick your ass so hard… you'll be wearing it for a hat. Are we clear?"

Kursed looked up with partially furrowed brows. "We _really_ need to work on your tact. The good-guy 'tough talk' doesn't work for you." She leaned back against the tiled wall and sighed. "Just… I'll be fine. Go on." She closed her eyes, lying there in the water with her wet clothes.

"Alright." Krystal left the bathroom and headed up to the cockpit.

x-

* * *

A/N: _This chapter was fun to write. I came up with the origins of Corneria and Lylat, I came up with a new direction for Fara and Marcus, I came up with a new direction for Kursed so I can tie her into the ending I've planned for her... and I gave Fox and Panther something to do. Which... of course... will happen next chapter, lol. Oh, and I gave Anezka a clear goal... an objective, a mandate. SO! We did everything except action in this chapter. What'cha think? _

_-me_


	23. Unlikely Alliances

A/N: _Chapter 24 is already finished. I'll re-read over it and post it really soon._

* * *

Chapter -23-  
"Unlikely Alliances"

_A little while ago…_

**"Ko'lek, come here!" **The lizard waved his hands, gesturing to his coworkers. The other two archeologists came over, followed by the head of the science team, Ko'lek. The green-scaled lizard pointed along the hinge-lines of what they always assumed to be an effigy in the wall. "I think I see a crack where the mural meets the wall. What if this were actually… a door?"

Ko'lek pulled out an expensive hand scanner, the only one on the team entrusted to have such a costly device. "Strange, I don't recall these readings before… it shows that it's hollow beyond this section of the wall… it's always shown dense rock behind here in the past… furthermore…" Everyone drew quiet seeing dust flutter from above. The dust thickened, falling from the top of the enormous section of wall then it began to draw back. All four lizards moved back, watching in amazement as the circular part at the center of the fifteen-foot tall logo began to turn like a tumbler in a keyhole. Dust breathed out of it, pouring down the front of the wall. It pooled on the floor. All at once, the door opened inwardly as if on mighty hinges.

Beyond the enormous doorframe stood a woman, who used the tendrils in her hair to open the keyhole in the door with ease. She withdrew the lock of hair from the door effigy then folded her arms, standing seven feet tall. She towered over the five-and-a-half foot lizards. The woman swept her arms back, gesturing them to gaze upon a statue at the center of the antechamber.

Within was an ancient sculpture of a Krazoa being with words on the base below where its robes covered its feet. She cleared her throat then asked, "Can you read that language?"

Ko'lek looked shocked that she spoke. He looked back at the statue and the pedestal on which it stood, then back at her. His eyes returned to the statue again and he moved into the room and lifted an electric lantern to read the wording. "I… I can!" He waved over his other three comrades. The green-skinned one took the lantern so that Ko'lek could scan the statue. He then took a moment to read the ancient Venom words. "They're second dynasty! This piece is eighteen _thousand_ years old and talks about occurrences that the writer claims dates back one million years! If this is accurate, the Krazoa may have died out a million years ago as a race, but six of them lived up until some time after this statue was placed here! This is unbelievable and… wait…" He knelt down and used a brush tool to get sand out of the carvings.

"What is it, Ko'lek?"

The lead scientist swallowed. "It claims this being, the Krazoa, is the one true creator of this system. It says that they will one day return to lead our people into war, which will result in a golden age. It doesn't say who the war will be fought against but it clearly says they will lead us into a war and the outcome of that war will be a time of great peace and prosperity."

Anezka approached them. She had her ears bound down and hidden, as well as her tail. She knelt to one knee adjacent to them. "Do you see the similarities? I _have_ returned. _I_ am the goddess, your deity, which is mentioned here. I've opened up this sealed cavern from the inside out and revealed this to you. Run your tests to verify the age of this statue. You'll find that it's quite real. Your people were a civilized offshoot from the dinosaurs of what Lylat now calls, 'Sauria'. The Sharpclaw tribe was mutated to their current state by accident when an asteroid crashed into the planet in the section now known as "Moon Mountain". But they were upstanding beings like yourselves before the mutation. You were evolved from them and chosen to serve us at the opposite end of the system, as your planet is the closest to the central star. I wish for you to tell your world of this discovery immediately." She pointed back at the base of the statue and at the words engraved upon it. "It is time for the golden age of prophecy to commence! I will be going to the metallic moon in orbit above this planet where, soon, I will tell your people of my plans against the mammals."

Ko'lek swallowed in excitement. "Dun-chu, call the press immediately. I'm going to run a carbon dating test on this statue..." he turned to the woman and asked, "What is your name?"

"Anezka Vacek. And I am your salvation, returned to life to lead this world to a golden age."

"Like Andross," Dun-chu said.

Ko'lek swallowed again. "Yes, like Andross."

x-

* * *

**Asper Sarnoff tilted his head, reading the report.** He downloaded it to a tablet and took it to Dash Bowman. Once in the man's office, Asper put on a good show, kneeling to one knee and saluting. He then arose and placed the tablet into Dash's hands. "Apparently, my liege, there is a wildfire rumor that Andross was reborn as a '_god_' of some sort. It's conflicting – a mishmash of various versions of the same story. A woman has appeared, claiming she is a deity."

Dash blinked and sat up straight, taking the digital device from his guard. "This had better not be the work of Kursed. I entrusted her not to do something foolish like that. I won't have her convincing people she's omnipotent just because she has some fancy parlor tricks."

"There's a picture of the woman in statue form on the screen," said Asper.

Dash glanced down and used his finger to move the information about on the small screen. "Hmm, a statue of a Krazoa that came to life…? This is certainly news. Kursed went to Sauria recently… I wonder if this somehow related to her trip there."

The base shuddered. Asper's eyes widened and met Dash's gaze. "Sir, the only thing capable of shaking an entire core base is…"

Before he could finish his sentence, a voice filled the air from the doorway. "…Is ME." Both Asper and Dash turned about to face the other end of the room. A woman ducked, walking through the doorway, which was several inches too short for her tall frame. She stepped in and stood up straight, a full seven feet tall. "I am Anezka Vacek and I've come to lead the people of Venom back to glory. _ALL_ mammals are subject to immediate imprisonment. I do not care how loyal they are to the planet below this metallic moon… they have no place in _my_ army." She glanced first to Dash and said, "That means you." Then her eyes cut to Asper. "You may stay."

Asper, remembering his orders from both Kursed _and_ Fara, shook his head. "I am his personal body guard. _If_ you can overpower me, you'll have to imprison us both."

Anezka swished her hand in a dismissive fashion. Asper went flying through the room. He hit a library shelf, causing the furniture to collapse. Books went in all directions, skittering across the deck plates. He slumped with a groan. She tucked an errant tendril back behind her shoulder and said, "I'll put you in a cell together; please do not kill one another. I may have use for you both at a later time." She then turned back to Asper and said, "If you change your mind, you're not a mammal… part avian and part reptile… I can appreciate your genetics, but not _his_," she said with a nod towards Bowman. Anezka turned her attention back to Dash and said, "Reach for your hidden blaster if you must. You cannot hurt me with such feeble-minded tools. Go on."

Bowman withdrew a pulse blaster from below the table and opened fire. The rounds struck the Krazoa woman, causing a previously invisible blue shield to flicker around her. She reached forth and seemed to effortlessly grab a glob of plasma in her palm. "You call this a weapon?" She brought the glowing energy to her lips the way a fire-eater might perform his act at a circus. "Dumb mortal ape, you cannot kill me. The end is near for you. For now, prison shall work nicely."

She stomped her foot on the deck plates. Similar to Krystal's staff, the deck plates became twisted and gnarled, shaking the room hard. Dash fell from his chair and the desk in front of him scooted across the floor, coming to rest at an angle. She flitted her wrist, shattering the mahogany piece into literal splinters. Dash cowered and cried out, "Don't kill us. We'll be your captives if only so that we can negotiate peace at a later time. There's no need to kill anyone here on this base that doesn't meet your standards."

"Then you shall live," she mused. "I wish to address the rest of the planet, below. Summon one of your reptilian servants who can show me how to broadcast my intent."

"Y-yes, of course." He reached for a communication panel on the floor, half buried under the broken wooden pieces. He pressed a button and said, "I need an Audio – Video technician in my office, immediately."

It didn't take long before a brown-skinned lizard stepped into the room, looking from him to her. "M…My liege? Are you alright?" The lizard sounded alarmed, seeing his leader on the floor behind a broken desk.

Anezka placed a hand firmly on his shoulder. "Young man, this foolish ape is no longer your leader and you will no longer SERVE under _any_ mammal. I will give you and your people more weapons and more power than you'll know what to do with. I'll provide you with knowledge and show you how to live in a Golden Age. Now, I wish to address the masses on the planet beneath us. Can you show me how to speak to the people of that world?"

Dash nodded to the lizard with a frown. The reptile looked up at Anezka and nodded in reply. "R…right this way, Miss… are you the woman they spoke of on the planet? The one on the news, thirty minutes ago?"

"I'm not quite sure what you mean by… _The News_, but yes, I came from the planet and I plan on freeing your people. We need to properly cage these sub-species creatures, then you must show me how to properly speak to the world beneath our feet."

"Y-yes, yes ma'am. Right this way," he said, nervous to see Asper and Dash on the floor at the feet of the tall woman.

x-

* * *

_Presently…_

**An Arwing and a modified Wolfen** emerged from a jumpgate above Venom. The 'Area6' ruins floated about in discord, littering the upper orbit high above the planet's surface. Fox navigated to the port, passing by a disc-like defense satellite with a large antenna above and below it, like a child's gyroscope toy. Panther watched the Arwing maneuver then snarled softly and said, "Your handiwork. Much of this mess has fallen into a degrading orbit and burned up in the atmosphere. Of course, you can see how much is left. Your fault."

"Yeah, yeah." Fox eased back on the flight stick then forward, going over another piece of floating debris. "I've got a stronger trail here but it doesn't lead to the planet. It leads _around_ the …Holy Sh-" Fox trailed off seeing the size of the Core Base peeking out from behind Venom. "At this angle, the damn thing looks like a _moon_. All right, she headed to the orbital base, I'm thinking; bad guys always like to be as high up as possible. This reminds me of the old days of Asteropolis."

"Mmm, that campaign was extremely brief and now goes mostly forgotten. You stopped their advance before Corneria was ever in any real danger. Civilians never perceived the threat because they never saw so much as a single enemy in their pretty blue skies. Now Eladard, on the other paw, was a disaster area."

"I take it you were on Eladard during that situation?" Fox moved into tight formation with Panther and added, "I'm going to initiate Theodore's cloaking device. It's been modified to create a bubble so… stay close to me." Both ships disappeared, reflecting their immediate surroundings to appear as a small, distorted section of empty space.

"Indeed I was. I had to rescue my step-sister."

Fox's brows lifted, creating a slight age crease on his forehead. "You have a step-sister?"

"Not anymore," said Panther. "My mother and her father didn't last very long. And I never really speak to her, nor did we speak then either. We both opposed the marriage… but I wasn't about to let her be killed by a Venom invasion force. I believe you know her."

Fox eased back in his seat, coming up with an idea in his head about whom the woman might be. "Falco too? And is she a grandmother now?"

"Yes, indeed she is a grandmother now. Makes one almost feel old, doesn't it? I was afraid if she were killed in a skirmish, our parents would somehow become closer in order to cope with the loss… I saved her, she thanked me and we went our separate ways. Eventually, our parents divorced. It simply wasn't a good union. They weren't, ah… evenly yoked. Sort of how Krystal and I weren't evenly paired as lovers, thus we were eventually fated to grow apart. No matter… _I_ remember the brief second attempt Andross made against Lylat."

"Well… you sure do have a way of bringing the past up, don't you? Y'know, maybe you should have gone into drama and theatre instead of being a mercenary or a fighter pilot or an assassin. You sure do have the 'drama' part down to a science… hmm, maybe you weren't evenly yoked for the job, huh?"

"You can take your Arwing and stuff it up your ass, Fox McCloud. We're here to find that Krazoan woman from Sauria, don't forget our mission."

"You really _are_ a classy guy, Panther." He closed the channel then added, "_Not_." Fox moved his left paw to a keypad and started taping out a control sequence to jettison several cloaked buoys. The first one went through the jumpgate. The second one took up a position just outside of the jumpgate. Fox sent an encoded data stream to the GreatFox, feeding them information. He and Panther made their way to a standard orbit above the Core Base and began scanning their communication's array. Fox opened the channel again and said, "We're going to have to try and break their encryption algorithm in order to see what they're saying to the planet. Whatever it is, the bandwidth is unbelievable. It's like they're broadcasting to every television and holovision on the entire planet or something."

Panther breathed a snarl at the back of his throat, which melted into a smooth baritone voice. "That appears to be an accurate summation. Panther is getting something from the planet. Panther shall now piggyback the feed to you."

A moment later a monitor on Fox's dash changed to show a Venom news broadcast intended for the public. They had a picture-in-picture, showing the Krazoa woman at a podium and in the larger picture, Fox could see lizards in the streets of the capital city, standing in front of an enormous jumbotron, watching her broadcast and cheering. Fox turned up the volume. "My Venom is a little rusty but… they're chanting something and it's hard to make out the words."

Panther frowned. "Use your Universal Translator, McCloud. Panther thinks you should trust this to be very bad."

Fox smirked and taped a few keys then listened close. The chanting was somewhat distorted because the chorus of voices made it difficult for the UT to work properly but he was able to make out what sounded like, "_Andross has returned; Long live Anezka._" He blinked, listening to it for several moments before asking, "Do these lizards think this woman has something to do with Andross? He's dead."

"For some reason," Panther paused to take a long, deep breath then continued. "These fools think she is the 'second coming' and that she'll be able to deliver a better economy and a better way of life for their culture, the way Andross did. It appears the planet is willing to rally around her after only a single speech. Whatever influence she has, they're quick to buy into it."

"How is that possible? Nobody knows what she's capable of. She might be a huge idiot."

"Indeed." Panther rubbed his chin for a moment. "It _is_ perplexing how she's able to sway them so quickly. She's either initiating some sort of mind control or she's… wait." They both watched as the news feed changed. The anchorman showed another picture-in-picture with a Krazoa statue. As the camera zoomed back, they were able to see that the statue of the Krazoa was part of the ancient Venom ruins that dated back countless millennia. The Krazoa statue was on a pedestal in the underground temple with symbols carved on the base. The camera zoomed in on the plate briefly.

Fox hit the rewind key then immediately hit the 'pause' key. "Okay, I'm going to run the image through the translator. Stand by." A moment passed before the Arwing computer returned a solution on another small screen. Fox's eyes widened. "Aw crap. Apparently the Venom people saw the Krazoa people as some sort of leader of biblical proportion. The computer was able to decipher the markings from that screen shot I got off the base of that statue… It says something to the effect of, 'And when the great originator returns to the first planet from the sun, they will lead our people into a war that will end tyranny and bring about a golden age for the faithful servants of the reborn Goddess." This makes sense – the people of Venom think she's a goddess reborn and see her as a deity."

"This isn't good. The original Lylat War was combat for vengeance. If the people of Venom see her as _the great ruler_, they'll initiate a Holy War against mammals. They'll fight with zeal and passion the likes we've never seen before. We should return to your ship quickly." Panther immediately groaned. "There's an attack squadron headed for us. Are you sure this cloak is any good?"

"It's good! It's flawless to the eye and pretty good at fooling long range sensors, too." Fox changed the image on the small screen and opened his audio transceiver to pick up broadcasts on all channels. Venom voices came over the speakers built into his dashboard.

His translator was still active – he could hear one lizard say to the rest of the team, "Base, we're closing in on the strange distortion, now. We have no visual – it could be a sensor glitch. However, the distortion field seems to hold itself in an orbit pattern. We're going to engage the sensor distortion to see what will happen. Stand by."

Fox groaned. "Okay, the jig is up. Let's get the hell out of here."

"Finally, you say something we can agree on, McCloud." Panther and Fox moved together in formation then moved together out of orbit.

One of the lizards reported over the public channel. "It's moving away as we close! The computer shows that the distortion is on course for the nearest jumpgate! It could be a cloaked battle cruiser! All ships, break formation and attack!"

Fox dropped the cloak, redirecting power to his shields. "There's only a dozen of them! We can take these losers! Break and attack!"

The feline growled low and relaxed. "Incoming squadrons, three from the planet are breaking atmosphere now. Two more are launching from the base." He broke away from formation with Fox and opened fire, destroying the wing commander of the first squadron. "The other squadrons each have ten to twelve ships. Fifty-six new ships, plus _eleven_ more, which I'm engaging now."

"Two against sixty-seven is a little more challenging." Fox started a loop but broke to starboard at the apex of his somersault pattern. He released a charged shot on one enemy then pulled a u-turn and finished the end of the loop, firing on another. An onboard computer HUD display showed two confirmed kills.

"The Desperado Rose is not sure how many ships Dash had available to him, or how many troops he had available to him…" Panther trailed off, destroying a second target of his own. He cleared his throat then continued speaking. "But there are a great deal of reptiles who are certified to pilot a fighter who survived the Lylat Wars. The question is… how many fighters are left in service that can still operate in interstellar combat?"

"This turned into a war of attrition already – I see another squadron breaking through the atmosphere… make that three. We're now up against one hundred targets."

"The more the merrier," snarled Caruso.

x-

* * *

**"Sir?"** Crimson O'Donnell rubbed the side of his head. "I thought it was determined that I would become a fighter pilot for the Cornerian Air Guard?"

Bill sighed. He rubbed at the dark circles beneath his eyes then ran his paws back through his headfur. "Listen, Star Fox has a lot going on. Dash has armed himself and they need every available pilot because they're on the offensive, unofficially. Corneria needs every pilot for defense and because we're changing the DEFCON status, all students are grounded until further notice. I don't have a ship you can fly, and you wouldn't be able to fly until next year anyways."

"I can help _now_. Flying next year seems a million years away because we might not make it to next year. Why did you come down to my quarters, General Grey?"

Grey cut his gaze to Fay who nodded encouragingly. "Go on, William. It's the least we can do to help."

Bill grinned and turned back to Crimson. "Red… that's what Marcus and Fara calls you right? Listen, Red. Everyone is out on the front line. They're _under_powered and _over_whelmed. Our refit team finished their duty ahead of schedule. I can't get through to Marcus because some sort of high-bandwidth transmission is blocking the sub-space buoys between here and Sauria. So I'm going to put all my trust in you, just like Marcus has done… and I'm going to sign off for you to take a brief leave of absence from your schooling. You won't lose any time or miss out on anything."

"What do you need me to do, Sir?" Crimson offered a light smile.

Grey handed over an access card. "This will get you into the facility that currently houses the GreatFox cruiser. There are four Arwings onboard. They're new and each is loaded with five nova bombs and twin plasma canons. There was no time to install a multi-lock system; I'm sorry. I've located a skeleton crew to take the ship out to Sauria."

"You're sending me to the front lines?" Crimson's eyes shined with excitement. "Who's the crew?"

"Slippy Toad and his wife, Amanda, will be waiting for your arrival. They're anxious to get back out there so they can help Theodore."

"I thought they were out there already?"

"They returned this morning, early, to take possession of Marcus' ship. Remember, it's in his name now… but when he received it last year, he put it in two names... his and yours. You need to be there with the Toad family in order for the ship to be taken out of port; you have to sign the dotted line, son. So… I've suspended your schooling and I marked down on your permanent record that you're on temporary leave because of your injuries. You were shot and left out in the woods for two days, after all. Now go help Marcus finish this mess."

Crimson took the card, grabbed his jacket and hurried to the door. He stopped in his tracks, nodded respectfully to Fay and said, "Ma'am…" then rushed through the door and down the hall.

Fay grinned to her betrothed. "You made his day."

"I pray that he makes it back. Marcus graduated the academy. Crimson hasn't. I'm not sure if he's ready, no matter how much confidence he has from Fara and Marcus… the kid is good but… he's inexperienced."

"Then let's pray for him and watch the news, love." Fay rubbed his cheek then gestured to the open door. "I'll lock up behind us." She reached behind the doorknob and turned the mechanism. "Let's head back to the safe house for now."

x-

* * *

**Fox McCloud's Arwing came out of a barrel roll** with grace. His eyes cut to the left, watching as a deflected energy round flew away from his fighter. He tilted the stick to the left then pulled back on it, cutting around to make another pass at the line of fighters that tailed Panther Caruso's ship.

"My starboard stabilizer cannot survive another attack," Panther reported. "McCloud, your shields are at sixty percent."

"Better than yours," said Fox with a snort. He frowned while going into a dive, then said, "Sorry. I know, I know… same team. You wanna try and make a break for the jump gate?"

"We have no one to cover us. We would be presenting our backsides to their blasters."

"It's a fifty-fifty shot, but we can't survive much longer without more Nova Bombs or a shield recharge."

Panther paused, not wanting to admit that the other pilot was right. "Let us make it a last ditch effort, then."

"Let's start making our way in that direction. We can lead the combat towards the gate so that when we do try to run, we'll be closer." Fox snapped to the port and started attacking another group from above. "We're a hundred thousand kilometers from the gate. We can use what's left of 'Area6' as cover. C'mon."

"Understood."

The two fighters started to guide the dogfighting away from Venom little by little. As they reached the midpoint of the old defense line, Fox checked his ship's chronometer. "I can't believe this sneaking mission turned into a three hour tour. At least you had food before leaving Sauria. I'm starving."

"Indeed, it's always a good time for a meal." Panther dropped a mine in his path, blocking a space between two decaying defense satellites. He tapped the boost to get a greater distance between himself and the pursuing enemies.

An explosion flashed in his dash-mounted rearview camera. A grin tugged at the large feline's muzzle, causing a slight wrinkle in the vertical white fur pattern over his cheek. "Excellent. Three more fighters down."

"How many more mines do you have?"

"Two. I was thinking I might drop them both directly in front of the jump gate if we make it that far. Which, of course, _Panther_ shall make it that far… but fair Krystal would be upset if I came back without you. So… try to keep up."

"It sure took'em long enough," Fox murmured to himself, watching his long-range sensor scope. "Well, the Core Base finally got their act together and just launched a _lot_ of fighters and a refueling ship. They're invested, that's for sure."

"Mmm, yes, Panther can see more red dots than he can count. Panther's fuel cell count is starting to get low. Then again, it's certainly no time to spare the boost."

"Stand by, my ship's computer is doing a calculation…" Fox paused then groaned. "Another two hundred ships? I didn't even know they had that many!"

A growl came over the communication line. "It's likely they're in-fleeting mothball fighters. It's too far back to see what classes are coming after us; let's not stick around to find out, hmm? Panther has only had to eject _once_. It shall not happen again."

Fox grinned, mashing his thumb down on the afterburn toggle. "Yeah, I remember finding your ship in the asteroid belt. Aparoids got'cha, if I remember correctly."

Caruso offered another growl but remained otherwise silent.

"I can see the gate! Wait!"

"What is it?"

Fox's eyes widened then he squinted. "The damn indicator lights are RED! Either something is about to come through or Venom has it locked from this end to keep anyone from leaving the sector!"

"Damn…!" Panther tensed up but kept his composure. "Then we have no choice but to fight to the death." He keyed three buttons on his control panel then announced to the incoming Venom defense force, "All those who see my red rose meet _death_!" His statement ended on a snarl.

"Let's flank the gate. That way, if something _is_ coming through, we won't get boxed in on both sides. You take the port side."

Panther broke to the left and hit his boost. A warning indicator flashed on his cockpit display, showing that he now had only ten percent of his reserves left. "My Wolfen cannot transfer additional fuel to the afterburner mechanism. Once I run out, I'll no longer be able to hit my boost."

"Better than being near bingo. Hold it together; we'll get through this. If it's a capital ship, we'll do two quick strafe runs on their turrets as soon as they come through the field. That way we hit them before they're prepared and before Venom's fighters get out here."

"Perhaps you were right in assuming the gate is simply locked out by Venom."

The gate turned a vibrant green, illuminating both fighters in dazzling neon jade. Fox's Arwing canopy automatically polarized, taking on a slight tint. "Well… that answers _that_ question. If Marcus can destroy a Venom battleship, two seasoned jocks, like us, should be able to have a field day with this many targets."

"Mm… I respect your optimism. Get ready, the indicator lights are flashing. Let's angle our aim so we catch them in the crossfire."

"Here it comes…" Fox brought his thumb over the secondary firing button, ready to launch his last Nova bomb. "Oh yeah… come to papa."

An elongated silver dreadnaught came through the vibrant green gate, piercing the darkness of space. It's long gooseneck primary hull section stretched out before them. Fox's eyes widened and he slid his thumb away from the firing button. "WEAPON'S HOLD!" The ship continued to move into physical space with enormous horizontal fins that nearly spanned to the edge of the colossal gate. Fox watched as it came through, perfectly centered. "Wow… whoever is piloting that is really good – ROB is back on the carrier out near Sauria."

Slippy Toad's voice came over the all-channel band. "StarFox to the rescue!"

Caruso clenched his teeth, ground his molars together then, quietly, said, "I never thought I'd be so glad to hear that voice." He moved forward, coming alongside of the dreadnaught.

The two rebuilt plasma cannons on the front of the ship roared to life in a flash, blasting through several incoming fighter groups at long range. The wide-beam shot left a glittering particle trail in its wake. A shiny, new Arwing launched from the front bay, with a flash of blue boost trailing behind it. Without delay, the fighter opened fire, spraying twin plasma cannon rounds towards the approaching enemy squadrons. "Hey'a Uncle Fox… Panther… thanks for saving me some bad guys!" Before anyone could get a word in edgewise, Crimson added, "I'll cover you two while you resupply. Make it quick. Upgrade your blasters while you're at it. We have _lots_ of supplies! I inventoried _everything_ on the way here!"

"No one even knew we were coming here," Fox said. "How did you guys know we needed rescuing?" Fox moved to a position that suggested for Panther to land first. Caruso moved about and flew into the large entrance above the back boosters of the dreadnaught.

Crimson chuckled. "General Grey said to take this thing out to Marcus. Then I read a status update on my Social Networking site, claiming that long-range sensors showed a firefight over Venom. Amanda had a 'woman's intuition' moment and suggested we come this way, just in case. Here we are!"

Venom fighters reached the jump gate and began to engage Crimson and the GreatFox. Several automated turrets came to life, shooting in all directions from the large ship. A feminine voice came over the channel. "Stop talking and start shooting, boys!" Amanda, at the controls of the computerized turret system, fired blaster rounds in all directions, forcing several incoming enemy fighters to break off from their attack run. Crimson got behind one of those fleeing fighters and destroyed it.

Panther came back over the line. "McCloud, Panther is about to launch – it's your turn."

McCloud moved into position astern of the dreadnaught then piloted his fighter into the hanger deck at the aft section above the large boosters. Meanwhile, Panther's modified Wolfen came from the front section, below the gooseneck bridge. He opened fire almost immediately – his powerful Zapper Cannon was now a deep shade of blue. The beam was wider and served to vaporize two incoming fighters with one shot. "Excellent upgrade, Panther must say!" Caruso's voice was proud and confident again.

Inside the GreatFox Dreadnaught, Fox opened his cockpit, seeing Slippy coming into the flight hanger. An autonomous arm moved the Arwing into position and two more begin refitting, refueling and upgrading his wing blasters. Fox hopped out of the cockpit and embraced Slippy in a masculine hug. "Thanks for the assist, bud. You came all the way out here because Amanda had a bad feeling?"

"Yup! So far, everyone is doing okay on Sauria. Listen, we're going to have you guys fall back shortly. I need cover just long enough to set up this Tachyon pulse beam. It does several things at once – for one, it will pierce the Core Base so we can scan it. Second, it'll create a distortion field, which will temporarily render their instruments inoperable. Finally, it'll halfway blind incoming attackers. Then we'll turn around and head back into the field."

"We should drop some mines to cover our path, just in case."

Slippy grinned. "Sounds like a plan. Then I'll send out an encoded message to scramble the jump gate's computers to mask our departure. They won't be able to follow right away and even when the gate comes back online, they won't have our coordinates so… yeah. Although they wouldn't dare follow us without a base ship anyhow."

"I'm sure Marcus will be excited to see how the refit went… this ship looks _new_ again."

Another grin from Slippy; he gave Fox a pat on the shoulder then said, "I'll need ten more minutes then order everyone to return to the hanger." He turned about and hobbled back the way he came. Fox headed back up the rolling staircase. He put one paw onto his canopy and one paw onto the pressure seal that surrounded his cockpit. Fox supported his weight on his paws, drew his legs up and over the hull then sank into his fighter seat. He pressed a sequence of buttons and his cockpit lowered then sealed itself with a soft hiss.

Fox waited for a moment, watching as his computer went through a reboot sequence. He braced himself for the acceleration shock. The Arwing rushed forward, pinning him to the seat. A split second before passing through the bay doors, his G-Diffuser system went active, causing the sensation of gravity to normalize. His body relaxed and he hit the boost, diving back into the thick of things.

x-

* * *

**Krystal McCloud glanced over** at Kursed and offered her a soft smile. The youthful looking doppelganger replied with an embarrassed look and a nod then glanced away in silence. Her glowing violet gaze dropped to the deck plates of the GreatFox carrier's hanger deck. She sighed and whispered, "That was awkward. I don't know what was worse… what I saw or knowing that you saw me so vulnerable." She stumbled and Krystal caught her by the arm.

"It's up to us to find this woman, Anezka, and make her see reason. The Krazoa had to prepare you mentally to be able to fight with your heart. I was able to sense some of what you experienced… I didn't see the images you saw but I felt the sensations emanating off of you. May I ask what you witnessed?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Kursed replied. "But for the sake of your curiosity, let's just say I saw my past, present and future. I have to will myself to change and… I... I may…need…" She couldn't find the words from the throbbing in her head.

"Need _help_, yes… I understand." Krystal took Kursed by the shoulder, turned the woman about and hugged her. It took a moment but, finally, Kursed relented… and after another minute of silence, she began to weep softly into Krystal's neck, hiding her face from the rest of the empty hanger deck. Slowly, the two women lowered to their knees together. Krystal continued to hold Kursed, who in turn continued to sob softly. After a bit longer, Krystal thought words to her other half. '_We may have to return to the surface to locate Krazoan technology or some such. They were successful in making Anezka dormant the first time around… maybe something on that planet can help us do it a second time. After all, nobody wants to kill the last of the Krazoa species… you and I, we surely know what she's going through… feeling alone, the only _known_ survivor of one's race. Perhaps the Krazoa spirits chose us to stop her because we can identify with her and somehow bridge a gap and reach her on some emotional level.' _ As Krystal continued to use her telepathy, Kursed became even more lightheaded.

Kursed sniffled and spoke in hushed tones against Krystal's shoulder. "Always the optimist, aren't you?" She relinquished the embrace then stood up and rubbed the tears from her cheeks with the backside of her paws, putting on a strong front. However, it was obvious that she was not only feeling faint but she was struggling to stand up straight. "Ugh… I feel disgusted with myself for being like this." She felt like she was floating but refused to complain anymore. Sounds seemed far away yet she could hear her own breathing rather loudly in her own ears.

"Oh stop. If you can't cry to yourself, then to _whom can_ you cry? Really, now."

Kursed turned away from her and sighed. She ran her fingers back through her headfur then rubbed her face with her palms… All at once she fell to the left. Krystal took her by the waist but Kursed slumped to the point where she could vaguely see the deck plating rush up to meet her face. She blacked out before she hit the ground.

Krystal hooked her arms around her waist then lifted her from the deck and slowly pulled her towards the far end of the hanger. Kursed's heels dragged the floor. "Oh you poor dear, you need something positive to focus on to help heal your mind." She opened her frontal lobe, scanning the area to see if she could sense anything particularly positive nearby… then blushed fiercely, sensing Marcus and Fara two decks up. "Oh my… that's quite positive but perhaps we can find something more _suitable_ to focus on."

All at once the flight hanger was bathed in shimmering green. Krystal squinted her eyes, looking out through the forcefield to the depths of space. In the distance, she could make out the jump gate becoming active, out in the abyss. A brilliantly polished dreadnaught came from the jump gate. Seeing it made Krystal smile. "Fox," she whispered, adding, "And Panther. She'll need you both, now more than ever."

Two fighters launched from the dreadnaught. She could see the twinkle of their engine particle build up. They streaked across the void and immediately set a course for the carrier's flight deck. Within moments both ships pierced the atmospheric force field. The carrier offered enough room for both fighters to come about at a hover and land on the flight deck, facing outwards.

Fox and Panther opened their cockpits. Their conversation with one another was brief before both noticed Krystal struggling with the unconscious body of Kursed. They dropped from their ship to the deck and rushed over to help without another word spoken.

Panther came around to the left side and Fox to the right. Caruso put his paw beneath Kursed's head and she stirred with a soft groan. The little blue vixen licked her lips then opened her eyes. Caruso knelt over her, and much to Fox's disgust, Panther brushed his lips against hers.

Kursed returned the soft kiss then placed a paw against his chest and said, "I appreciate your sentiment. But… not _now_." Kursed frowned in reply to the way his expressive face dimmed. "Let us focus on an offensive against this Krazoa hybrid before I focus on my future with a mate. Please." She saw the disappointment in his eyes and it actually made her feel something she'd not experienced in a _long_ time… guilt. Kursed placed a paw on his jaw, trailing her thumb over his lips. "Panther, I appreciate the kiss. I needed it and it's a reminder of how things could have been. But help me stop her first. Then we'll talk, I promise you."

"Anything you need. Anything at all. We'll go whenever you're ready."

Kursed looked up at Krystal, whose lap she still occupied. "My headache is going away. I think… I think I'm feeling better. I know you'll protest but I'd like to strike now."

Fox looked from one blue furred woman to the other then back. "Actually, we know her location and she's not yet gained full power over Venom. But the situation is serious. And it will become worse with every passing moment. I think we _should_ strike now while we have the firepower and while she's not at full strength with Venom."

"I…" Panther paused then sighed and nodded. "I _agree_ with Fox."

Krystal shook her head slowly. "Very well. I sense Crimson is near… you're right. We have the firepower. But we need more intelligence on the matter. Let's go there and come at them from two directions with both GreatFox ships. Then, while they're distracted by our dual-front approach, Kursed and I will use Theodore's cloak on Kursed's shuttle. We'll use the Instant Transmission pad to beam ourselves onto the corebase and we'll use our telepathy to avoid confrontation so that we can spy on Anezka. Perhaps we can even sabotage the base then leave before we begin the assault. We can take two other people. Panther, you should stay ready in your cockpit. Theodore should go with us on the shuttle to operate the Instant Transmission equipment. Fox… you should go with us just in case we're caught and need a third gun."

Kursed sat up and looked back at her middle-aged doppelganger. She stared at the woman for a moment then smiled. "I never thought I'd hear you suggest something of this nature. I'm impressed. What about Marcus or Fara instead of Fox?"

Krystal shook her head. "I think we need power players standing by to fly just in case. If we're going to do this now… then we shouldn't delay any longer."

Kursed nodded in agreement. "I'm ready. My headache is nearly gone. I feel like I'm up to the task."

McCloud looked up at her husband and smiled. "Fox, contact the bridge of both ships and let's take them through the gate together. Hmm… I also sense Slippy and Amanda on the other ship. It's good we have the help. I'll take Kursed to suit up. Meet us back on the flight deck to get the shuttle in thirty minutes then we'll get ready. Have Theodore head down here now to install the cloak on Kursed's ship. I'm ready for anything."

Fox nodded, offered his wife an intimate thought then walked away. Panther glanced at Kursed longingly then headed back to his fighter to be at the ready. Kursed looked back at Krystal, getting the rest of the way to her feet then smirked. "I heard when Fox thought to you, obviously. I never remember him being so… passionate at heart."

"That took a few years of training once he was wearing my ring on his left paw. It didn't happen over night. If you'd have just looked closer at him, you'd have seen the potential in his heart."

"I wish I didn't kill Fox in my dimension. I'll never forgive myself for it. I pine for him. I just… I wish I could explore his potential like you did."

"Panther's a good runner up, you know. He means well."

Kursed's eyes hit the deck plates. "But he's not Fox McCloud."

x-

* * *

_An hour later…_

**Krystal and Kursed exchanged glances. **Their matching purple eyes shimmered and swirled. Theodore glanced back at Fox and the two females then said, "I've never personally tried using Instant Transmission on a living being. I'm a little nervous about this."

Fox grinned. "I've done it. You know, the technology is based off of what Corneria found on Sauria after my mission there when I was just a little older than you are now. Twenty-six I think. Reverse Engineered Krazoa technology is where our shield barriers came from, where our Instant Transmission pads came from… Cornerian scientists studied a _lot_ of things once I charted this planet. Hell, they named one of the Cornerian colonies after me. Kinda' weird, though."

Theodore and Fox continued to discuss the differences and similarities between Krazoan technology and Corneria's iterations of these latest gadgets and devices. Meanwhile, Krystal turned to Kursed, up in the cockpit. She closed the door leading back to the rest of the shuttle then said, "You really have a feeling that things are going to get bad, huh?"

Kursed nodded. "Hard to hide my thoughts from my other half, I suppose. I think we should pull Dash and Asper out of there. We can take Dash prisoner and Asper can be out of the fire. I understand his original mission but that's changed now. Things are different and he shouldn't be in that mess."

"I suppose you're right about that," said Krystal. "He's a good boy and he's doing a lot to help Violet to raise my… our… grandson. We owe him that much." She paused, hearing Kursed's next thought and said, "Exactly; if we need to destroy that base, it would be best to have those two with us. I can understand why you wouldn't want to kill Dash. He inadvertently paved the way for you to find yourself again. I can only imagine he won't be willing to cooperate, though. My biggest concern is that Anezka will now have access to the reverse polarity spellstones. How about I retrieve Dash and Asper with Fox's help. You find the spellstones and we'll meet up for extraction?"

"There's one more person we should probably rescue on that base," said Kursed with a sigh of near frustration. "Andrew is in stasis. As content as I am to let that one perish, he should stand trial and suffer in a prison. And, just the same, Dash will have to answer for crimes against his attack on Corneria's Capital City last year. Surely he will be facing the death penalty. Andrew would be facing life in prison, and once this all blows over… _I_ have to answer for the fires on Fichina and the covert attacks on Eladard, which is where I met Fara and Asper a while back. Hmm, that seems like it was in another lifetime."

"You've gone through so many changes since then." Krystal leaned back in the co-pilot's seat. "If you ask me, all these changes have been for the better."

"I hope so, but it won't save me from interplanetary law. I'll be an outlaw forever." Kursed shrugged, glaring at the autopilot control display monitor. "Maybe I can still take those spellstones and somehow use them to make my way back home. I can right a few wrongs then leave Lylat for good. I'll start over."

Krystal smiled. "Maybe you and Panther can start a life here. I know you feel like he's second best… we both feel that way… but he does try hard. He does care for you and is falling in love. It won't be long before he's mature enough to actually be considered _a man_. One day he might even become marriage material."

"Indeed. I suppose anything is possible. If I can change for the better, he's capable of being a good mate; then again he might be eighty before that happens. I just …maybe I need to be more open-minded so I can give him a chance if things comes down to it."

"Agreed." Krystal lifted her eyes to the corebase ahead. She stood up and opened the door, leading back to the heart of the shuttle. "Theodore, it's time for you to take the controls. Fox, there's been a slight change of plan. While we're over there gathering intelligence, we're going to rescue Asper. Kursed and I have agreed that we should capture Dash and Andrew so they can stand trial for what they've done. A lot of Cornerians need closure and to see them captured and put on display in their grasp would be… therapeutic for many people. Andrew is apparently in stasis… so all we have to do is locate him and put a transponder on his cryogenic equipment then Theodore can transmit him here. Dash will have to be taken into custody."

Fox frowned. "Dash can be turned over to the Cornerian government dead. He set off the most destructive weapon in recorded history and killed over a million people. The citizens of Corneria will find plenty of closure in receiving his lifeless body."

Krystal narrowed her gaze. "Fox… we're not playing God. We're not going to be his judge, jury _and_ executioner. That's up to the court system. I know you're upset at his actions but… you know better than to stoop to his level."

A frown marred Fox's features. "Y... yeah, I suppose. I'm sure Marcus will be livid. We should probably lock Dash away for his own safety. Anyhow, I'll go along with this."

Krystal smiled. "Star Fox will bring him in as a bounty. We can probably retire off of the reward money. Andrew will be icing on the cake. We're nearly in range to start the mission. Are you ready?"

Fox nodded with a lopsided grin. He checked his utility belt then patted the weapons on his sides. "I'm ready. What about you? I see both Cerinian staffs are here."

The vixen glanced over her shoulder at the two staffs on the wall-mounted charge plate then took them down in an almost reverent way. "I look forward to finishing this once and for all."

Fox nodded firmly. "If we can take down this woman tonight, I say we try. If the chance presents itself… there's no use wasting time. We should finish the job, destroy the base and, if it's true that Dash has one of those damn gravity bombs his grandfather invented… then… well, I say we use that invention to create a gravity implosion to crush the base in on itself… destroy it with one attack."

Krystal nodded. "We'd have to use Kursed's reverse polarity spell stones. Mm, Crimson's sisters's girlfriend would know how to make it all work. It's a shame she's not here to help us. Perhaps, if we can't figure out how to use whatever weapon Dash has already invented… then we'll bring those spell stones back to Doctor Granton and she can help us use them to finish the base and… worst comes to worst… we'll use it to finish Anezka."

Fox placed a paw on her face and smiled. "We'll get through this together. When do we transfer over?"

"Theodore is getting us in close. I think they're doing a scan to find the best place to transmit in… so it should be any minute."

Fox nodded. "I'm ready. As ready as can be, at least."

Theodore called up from the front. "Okay, gang. I'm sending Fox and Krystal together to the brig. You should find Dash and, hopefully, Asper there. Then locate Andrew and I'll set up a forcefield brig here to receive them. Then you'll have to find Kursed and help her with the spellstones. Finally, let me know what the plan is from that point."

Fox pounded his left fist into his right palm. "Sounds like a plan." He glanced up, seeing Kursed join. He took the second staff from his wife and passed it to the other woman. "Stay safe over there. I know you're one hell of a fighter but …just the same, don't get yourself into any trouble and… keep an eye on my wife." He glanced back at Krystal and added, "That goes for you too, young lady." They grinned at one another.

Theodore called back from the cockpit. "Everyone, stay sharp and get ready. Fox and Krystal, you're first." He began operating the controls then said, "Transmitting now."

Kursed watched as Fox and Krystal disappeared. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath then said, "Just for the record… you and Vivian Hare aren't evenly matched for mating. I know you guys flirt a lot but… let's face it, Mister Toad, a romance will hurt your friendship. Plus, she's not interested in someone who isn't warm-blooded; she needs a man who can keep her warm at night. Just… don't rush into that drama. You didn't hear that from me. I'm ready for transmission."

Theodore licked his lips apprehensively then, in a softer tone, said, "Transmitting…" And he keyed the control sequence then glanced back through the doorway, watching Kursed disappear from the shuttle.

x-

* * *

**Fox looked around then rubbed his face** to make sure he was whole. "Not as smooth of a ride as the Krazoa pads on Sauria," he murmured under his breath. The pilot blinked away the sensation of dizziness and took a deep breath. He turned to the right, coming face to face with laser bars. He was close enough he could feel the heat of the illuminated barriers. Fox backed away then glanced around himself to get his bearings. His right ear flickered at the sound of a female voice.

"They're over here." He saw his wife and moved towards her. Further up the corridor was the brig with several apes and marmosets. Asper Sarnoff, Dash Bowman and another simian shared a cell in the middle of the prison block. The vulpine wing commander approached his vixen and turned to face Dash, who came to the bars to ponder why Fox McCloud was coming to his base. Krystal folded her arms and said, "You're in a lot of trouble, mister."

Fox sighed. "Bowman… I wish we had time to explain but things are complicated." He passed a small circular device through the bars to Andross' grandson. "This will lock onto your position so we can use the Instant Transmission device to beam you to our shuttle. We've got to find Andrew as well."

"You're here to _rescue me_, McCloud? After I backstabbed your son? After I melted Corneria Capital City off the face of the planet?"

"Shut up and take the damn beacon." Fox narrowed his gaze to show that he meant business and to display a sense of urgency. The trick worked; Dash took the small transponder and abruptly disappeared. Next, McCloud waved Asper forth. "Okay, you know where Andrew is being kept?"

"I do."

"Then I'm going to need you to come with me." Fox cut his eyes to the third simian in the cell. "You, ape… You're going to let everyone else free and cause chaos to cover our escape. I could just leave you all in there but I'm putting your fate in your own hands, and your first order of business after freeing your people is to get the hell off of this base, understand? Nothing sneaky or else you'll be right back in jail. Cool?"

The man wore the insignia of a Major. He approached the bars and said, "Please, slow down. It's been a while since I've spoken Cornerian; my direct superior officer only spoke Venom. Now… I won't backstab you. We'll be headed towards the flight deck. What are you doing with Dash and Andrew?"

The vulpine pilot quirked a brow as if insulted that the prisoner was questioning him. "For the moment I'm keeping them alive. I don't know why but they seem worth more to me alive than dead right now."

"Fair enough. How do you plan on getting us out of here?"

Krystal withdrew her staff and generated a shield bubble so that the energy field overlapped against the laser bars. Sparks showered across the deck plates. She glanced up at Fox and said, "Just another moment." She shifted her body weight and, much to the confusion of the ape, her staff's shield began to change in hue and tint. She withdrew two Cornerian shield barriers and activated them. The energy created an overlapping magenta protective field. The three shields resonated together, changing frequency until their energy compatibility levels acclimatized. Like a tuning fork, the three shields resonated together, causing a soft melodic hum.

"What are you doing?" asked Asper, honestly curious about her technique.

Fox spoke up for his wife while she worked. "She's creating a static barrier shell. It'll deflect the solid laser bar and cause it to bend so you two can step through." He cut his eyes to the simian in the cell. "How you choose to rescue the other prisoners is up to you."

Krystal's triple shield technique continued to show a visual distortion field as the frequencies fluctuated for another few moments. They came into harmony together and the dissonant sounding chord became a harmonic tone that was pleasing to the ears. The laser bars dissipated at the center, appearing to be bent.

Asper stepped through followed by the Major. Fox handed the simian man his boot pistol and said, "You have plenty of charge for stunning but if you set it to lethal, you'll be limiting yourself to somewhere between ten and fifteen discharges. Use it wisely. And just so we're clear… this changes nothing between our people. We just have to resume our fighting later."

The Major took the small weapon and disengaged the safety then checked the power cell. "This is a step in the right direction for peace. But we both know that the rest of our people would never go for it… not any time soon." He put the blaster into his uniform belt and addressed the rest of the prisoners in the hallway. "I'm going to find the power relays for this section. I'll return shortly." The officer nodded respectfully to Fox, Krystal and Asper then hurried down the hall and disappeared around the next intersection.

Fox, staying 'in character', turned to Asper and said, "Take us to Oikonny. Move, half-breed."

Asper fluttered the scaly wings on his back and motioned for Fox and Krystal to follow. "This way."

Asper led them away from the brig then relaxed his body language. "Mister and Mrs. McCloud, how is Violet and…?"

Krystal put a paw on his chest, interrupting him. "Everyone is well. I'm sorry this is so sudden but your cover is no longer necessary. We have Dash prisoner on our shuttle, now, and we're taking Andrew back to Corneria. Then we're going to try and destroy this base but we need a way to collapse it from the inside out. I was thinking a gravity weapon; I'm sure there's something on the base that can help us."

The hybrid avian-lizard nodded firmly. "Dash has prototype gravity bombs. They're similar to the Nova Bomb but create a 'gravity well' like a collapsing star… on a much smaller level, of course. The other option is… we can implode the reactor core at the center of this base."

Fox nodded as the trio walked together. "What do you think would be easier to achieve?"

"The armory is at the north polar section of this base. The research and development weapons are stored inside of an energy field at the south polar section. The reactor core is at the heart of this station. We're halfway between the south sector and the center. It's your choice."

Krystal gave her staff a twirl as if to stay in practice. "Where would the reverse polarity spellstones be kept?"

Asper offered a rare glint of a grin. "They're in _this_ sector. Rather close, actually."

"What about Andrew?" Fox asked.

"You're in luck. They're keeping him near where the spellstones are kept because, in order to power the shield emitters, Dash had to draw power directly off the energy core. They're almost volatile when near one another but they're beyond impossible to control when keeping all four in the same area. He's using a force field similar to the way scientists collect anti-matter samples. That way they don't repulse from one another to the point where it pushes the base apart."

"I see. Maybe we could just shut down their force field and let them destroy the base for us."

Asper shook his head at Fox then frowned. "Trust me, you don't want to do that. But even if you wanted to, Dash cleverly used them to power the energy weapon banks that are used to protect the chamber from would-be thieves. I don't know how to disable the protection grid. If you tried to tamper with the containers that hold the stones, you'd be in serious trouble."

"Okay, let's find Andrew then we'll head to where the stones are being kept." Fox placed a paw on Asper Sarnoff's bicep, just above the shoulder and guided him forward. "Take point."

"Of course… right this way." They continued through the base, quickly coming to realize that with all the simians locked up, Dash Bowman's "Skeleton Crew" used to run the corebase left very little lizards around to offer any real means of resistance. Asper explained, "You may notice that the halls are nearly empty. A lot of the crew is currently patrolling the skies over Venom because there were intruders in Area-6 earlier."

Fox smirked. "Gee, wonder who that could've been…"

Asper opened a door to the heart of the metallic labyrinth and gestured for Fox and Krystal to enter. At the center of the room, McCloud saw Andrew Oikonny in a tube with a glass front. He approached it and placed his palms against the transparent panel. "Okay… in order to transfer him, we're going to need to move the equipment as well… then we're going to have to plug it in on the shuttle or he'll die."

Sarnoff snorted in disdain. "His death would be no great loss. He's a trifling man with no worth."

"Just the same," said Krystal. "We're not here to play_ God_ with his life. Let's get him moved then we'll head to where the spellstones are kept." She placed a small device on Andrew's cryogenic apparatus. Krystal opened a channel to Theodore and said, "Seven pieces of equipment to transmit. You'll have to do everything simultaneously because these machines are keeping him from thawing; according to the display, he's being maintained at _negative _one hundred ninety-five degrees Celsius."

Toad's voice came over the communicator. "I reckon I can move it all at once. Stand by for transmission." Seconds later, all the pieces of equipment disappeared, leaving a slight discoloration on the empty deck plates.

Fox turned about and said, "Now to find the spell stones then we'll lay waste to this place and leave."

"This way," said Asper. Krystal and Fox followed the hybrid back down the hall until coming to a large sliding door. He waved his ID card in front of a sensor block. The doors slid apart and he smiled. "Good, it still works; I've not been locked out yet." He led Fox and Krystal into a large room about the size of a cargo bay.

At the center, four glowing stones hovered in four anti-grav chambers, all of which were linked together by some sort of pulsating energy beam. Old fashion metallic chains linked through enormous cast iron eyelets beneath each chamber as a failsafe. The chains looked reminiscent of something that would support an anchor on ancient sea-faring ships.

Fox rubbed his chin. "Those chains are big enough to walk on… each link is larger than the spellstone housed within those compartments. I have to say it's pretty wild seeing them together like this."

"I'm not even sure why they react that way," Asper said. "Something to do with… coming from another dimension."

Krystal twirled her staff again. "They were designed to hold a planet together no matter how powerful the force was that tried to push the planet apart. But their, ah, 'polarity' was reversed when Kursed brought them from her universe. Now they push things apart. The idea of a 'failsafe chain' is laughable; they have the power to push entire planets apart – a simple chain won't stop them. Dash was clever to utilize a specially tuned harmonic resonance force field that contains each stone's magnetic abilities. But if even _one_ shield fails… those chains will do nothing and this base will explode."

"Krystal…" The voice belonged to another female. Kursed dropped down from a vent high in the ceiling. She withdrew her staff in midair, swung the tip down and activated her shield barrier. When it hit the floor, she bounced off of it, performed a somersault and landed gracefully on her feet in front of Asper. A smile found its way on her face. "Hello again, Mister Sarnoff. So… why didn't you kill Bowman when you had the chance?"

"I was told to wait until I received orders," said Asper. "Now he's our prisoner and I'm satisfied with that. I thought you were the Empress?"

Kursed twirled her staff the way Krystal did two minutes ago then put it into a sheath on her back. "Very well. We've got what we came for, then. We'll have to have two stones transmitted to the dreadnaught and the other two stones should be sent to the carrier… then they have to be kept apart. Having all four together like this is silly. If that force field fails, they will destroy this base in seconds. Then they'll be difficult to track down again. And for your information, things have changed. Dash just doesn't know it yet because he's an idiot."

Fox kept his eyes on the four stones then told Kursed, "I think we should find a way to send them home with you if you decide you still want to go there."

She replied with a slight smile. "I'm considering that possibility, Fox." Her eyes cut to Krystal then she looked back at Asper. "Let's move them. I found a room with weapons that, with a little more research, might be able to get me home."

Krystal nodded slowly. "Gravity Bombs. You'll need to find a way to amplify their implosion output by a great deal. Then, according to Beltino Toad's time-slip theory, you'll need to have a gravity-defused ship and fly it straight into the temporary blackhole perfectly."

"Slippy and Theodore Toad will figure out how to multiply the implosion rating," Kursed replied with a smirk. "_I_ will figure out the rest if I must." Her eyes widened and she glanced over at the bay doors. Krystal also tensed up and turned about. The double doors slid open and Anezka Vacek walked into the room, towering in stature at seven feet in height. Kursed's upper lip curled, displaying her teeth. "Whatever we decide to do, we're out of time. So let's get this stuff moved and bug out."

"Heel," said Anezka in a chilling tone, speaking in Cornerian. Two lizards hurried in behind her then said something in Venomian. Behind them, several more lizards entered the room, one of which had a shoulder-mounted TV camera. The Krazoa half-breed female glanced back at the assembled group of mammals and the hybrid avian. Silence.

Anezka snorted in disgust and approached Krystal and Kursed. They withdrew their Cerinian combat staffs and readied themselves. Anezka appeared disinterested in their fight posture. She approached casually and leaned forward to inspect their eyes. She suddenly exclaimed, "Those fools! The Krazoa seek to leave the planet to witness your hunt for me? Don't those idiots know that if your body dies, they would have no one to carry their spirit back to the Saurian surface? It's akin to _suicide_ for them to leave that planet!"

"You have to be able to _kill us_ first. They're protecting us from you."

The hybrid Krazoa creature appeared disinterested in Kursed's monologue. She turned back to the lizards that followed her. "Are you taping this, my loyal followers?" She waited until the media journalist gave a nod. "Excellent. I will demonstrate her abilities then I will have you witness _my_ abilities." She crooked a finger at two soldiers then pointed at Kursed. "Attack only that one."

The two reptile soldiers rushed Kursed. The youthful looking blue vixen spun about and used the tip of her cane to knock down the first incoming soldier. She pivoted on her heel, delivering a roundhouse kick to the second attacker. Kursed transferred inner chi to her lower limbs, using the ancient technique of Dahn Daju (_Chapter 4 of Reflections of Krystal_) to flatten the second. The reptile's body was thrown clear into the first, killing both. She reached for one of the lizards and pulled his limp body towards herself using telekinesis.

Kursed smirked then swung her cane like a bat. She initiated the super-quake feature just as the end of the staff connected with the incoming enemy. It shattered his body in pieces, creating a mess on the cargo bay deck. Kursed twirled the staff then smirked. "Is that all you've got?"

Krystal cringed, glancing back at Fox with a sour expression. "I'm horrified she ripped that man apart on tape, like that."

The Krazoa being turned to the remaining reptiles and said, "And now… Behold a _small taste_ of _my_ power." She held her paw outwards, palm up and smirked at Kursed. An anti-gravity bomb appeared in her palm. "Something says you wanted this device, didn't you?"

Kursed's eyes widened then abruptly narrowed. "You fool! If you use that on me, it will also destroy the reactor core and caused a chain reaction. You'll probably cause some sort of temporary subspace rift between using that bomb near these spellstones and destroying the reactor, you moron!"

"Then I shall contain the detonation," said Anezka. She waved her wrist in an almost dismissing fashion. Kursed disappeared then reappeared at the center of the room between the floating circle of spellstones and the gravity bomb. Anezka snapped her fingertips twice. The first snap caused a field around everything at the center of the room. Fox, Krystal and Asper were on the outside of the energy bubble. Kursed found herself floating between the chained anti-grav chambers, which held the spellstones. Her fur was standing on end as if controlled by static electric discharge.

The floating vixen began to glow in an ethereal way. An eerie blue light emanated from her ears, muzzle and nose… then from every pore in her body. Her staff was ripped from her paw due to a negative permeability effect. The second snap of Vacek's fingers caused a searing bright flash, contained within the shield sphere. The empty echo of Kursed's scream was deafening to all in attendance. Everyone in the room averted their eyes. The spellstones, the anti-grav containment units, and the chains… it was all gone. In their place was a void space. Nothingness. The chain and the containers had completely disintegrated.

The gravity bomb's energy reaction displayed itself as a swirling portal of color. A soundless ringing filled everyone's ears, dazing all those assembled – after fifteen long seconds the colorful display dissolved. Once it was over, the large spherical shield bubble dissipated.

Krystal widened her eyes and shook off the disorientation. "WHERE IS SHE?" she shouted over the ringing of her eardrums.

Anezka appeared bored. "She was vaporized. Behold." She waved a slightly furred hand forth and motioned to a Cerinian combat staff on the floor beneath where Kursed and the spellstones had hovered only seconds ago. Nothing physical remained save for the staff, which appeared blackened as if charred on nearly all sides. A cloud of dust and ash settled to the ground and in its place was a free floating specter, the Krazoa Spirit.

Krystal broke into a sprint then dropped to her knees, taking the other staff into her paws. She looked around, sniffed at the area then looked back at the hybrid Krazoa. Her lower lip trembled. "…You… _Murderer_."

Anezka narrowed her gaze at the spirit, ignoring Krystal. "Now you have nowhere to go. No one here is pure of heart. Save, maybe, the little blue furred female… and she is already the host to another spirit. Now what will you do, you fool? You'll fade away without a host body unless you're immediately returned to the homeworld."

Fox discretely brought his right paw to his left wrist and pressed two buttons on his computerized gauntlet, feeding coordinates to Theodore. He turned about then saw the spirit headed towards him. Before he could utter a single word, the spirit rushed into his body. The pilot was thrown from his feet, ten feet off the deck from the force of the spiritual entry. The Instant Transmission field surrounded him in midair. Krystal, Fox and Asper disappeared from the bay.

"NO!" she shouted, robbed of her prizes. Her hands turned to fists then lowered to her sides. "So… he, too, was pure of heart. Interesting." Anezka growled softly then turned back to the Venomeeze lizards. "The cowards have fled. They've escaped because they were terrified; they are _frightened_ by my demonstration. _AFRAID_. I obliterated Dash Bowman's precious _creation_… the so-called 'new leader' of your planet. I did it with only a simple thought. I really do _not_ require an army to fight against the mortals of Lylat but your people served my people in the past and I wish to rekindle our ties. I will lead your people into a glorious golden age. Nothing can oppose me. Not the spirits of Krazoa and certainly not a rag-tag band of mammalian mortals."

The room was stunned to silence. The journalist backed up to his cameraman and whispered, "Please tell me you got all of that footage."

The cameraman's eyes were wide, staring through the viewfinder at Anezka. He replied with a wordless nod.

x-

* * *

A/N: _Just a reminder, Chapter 24 is already finished. You won't have to wait very long to read it. SO…. OHNOEZ! Anezka finally displays her abilities. Since the people of Lylat, Cerinia and Kew originated genetically from the Krazoa, that means that everything they can do… Anezka can do better and can focus her abilities much better. _

_So… does this mean the Hunters Of Kew will target Anezka? And if Kursed, in her old universe, can wipe them out… doesn't that mean that they won't even stand a chance against someone more powerful like Anezka? _

_Doesn't this mean she's nearly unstoppable? So, uh, HOW CAN SHE BE DEFEATED? Well, if you've read all the other stories in this series, you already know that she'll be kept at bay for a while but it'll be Marcus' children that have to find a way to defeat her for good. And… they will achieve victory at the cost of one of their lives. SAD FACE FUTURE. Heh. _

_So, Kursed is gone. All that was left was the staff and the Krazoa spirit that had possessed her body. And! Anezka has demonstrated that she is powerful enough to single-handedly create an energy field capable of containing a gravity bomb's blast. It uses the force of anti-matter gravity to crush matter into the finest of dust particles. _

_Does anyone know why the staff survived? Because! It's a plot device! LOL no, seriously, though, I have the explanation at the beginning of chapter 24, which, as I said before, is already finished. I'll be posting it really darn soon. As in… REALLY darn soon. But yeah, I did a little research to make sure everything was researched. And what of the spirit? Since the Krazoa spirit has no mass, when Kursed's body was torn away from the physical realm, the spirit was left in her place. Dayum. _

_Long story short, and to dispel ALL CONFUSION__… she was thrown __**into**__ the energy vortex, the staff was thrown __**away**__ from the energy vortex. So Kursed was vaporized in the energy field, the staff was spared from disintegration. But I was amusing myself by throwing the quantum mechanics at'cha. To the handful of you that enjoy that cerebral kind of stuff… For you I delivered! *heart* _


	24. Fork in the Road

Chapter -24-  
"Fork in the Road"

**Theodore** moved the scanner along the length of the staff then glanced up at his father. "You were right, Dad. It's residue that the scanners can't define. I'm thinking that whatever caused this was something in the level of… _theoretical _…Maybe Tachyon Condensation?"

Slippy nodded, impressed by his son's intelligence. "On one side, I've got trace amounts of radiation. But it's only on one side… _I'm_ thinking the staff hit the ground and whatever side was facing upwards was the side that received the dusting. I'm running an analysis now to find out what kind we're dealing with and if it's got something to do with this anomaly."

Panther glanced at Krystal and Fox then over at Marcus and Fara. Without a word he stormed out of the laboratory and headed for the flight deck. Fox started to go after him but Krystal placed a paw on his arm and shook her head.

Marcus frowned at his father and said, "He needs to be alone. He's upset and bitter. He partially blames us because he followed our plan – he felt like if he was there, things might have been different. Let him cool down."

"_I_ watched it happen," said Fox. His glowing purple eyes lowered to the deck plates. His voice lowered. "It was awful." McCloud sighed then, slightly louder, he added, "She was glowing blue from the inside out then she screamed and there was a flash of light. The staff hit the ground and she was vaporized. The spellstones were vaporized. The only thing _I_ can't understand is why the staff _wasn't_ vaporized."

Slippy turned to another computer and read a message on the screen. "Teddy, I think it was '_Cherenkov _radiation.' That doesn't seem… We're going to need a _team_ of scientists to understand what we're dealing with here."

"You might be right," Theodore replied. He took a black chip from the charred staff and put it on a scanning dish then placed the clear tray into a scanning machine and closed the small bay. After checking the initiator readout, Ted turned on the unit. Words and letters filtered onto a nearby monitor. He moved to it and said, "We're already getting data." His father moved near the screen and watched the data flow and element report, which filled the display. Ted took off his hat. "It has negative permeability; if she was glowing because of the Cherenkov effect, then, hell, this staff should _not_ be giving us proof that it may have undergone a _negative_ Cherenkov effect. You can't have two different occurrences in the same force field; it doesn't make sense."

Fara licked her lips then said, "What, uh… if it did?"

"Fara, no offense but," Theodore started.

She cut him off, saying, "No, hear me out. Matter and Anti-matter push each other away. They're like polar opposites. Time and Anti-time cancel each other out. So, what if whatever happened is what caused the staff to be pushed away from her: for her to be vaporized yet for the staff to remain whole? You said it yourself from the beginning… there was an anomaly. What makes you think Tachyons were involved? They're theoretical particles that go faster than light and can't slow down below light speed. How would you have proof that such a particle was present?"

Slippy and Theodore, not having expected for Fara to know anything about quantum mechanics, looked at one another. Then they looked back at her in unison. Slippy scratched the top of his head and said, "Well, see, when something moves at superluminal speed, it leaves a print. Sort of like how a vehicle moving faster than sound will cause a sonic boom, the particles moving faster than light will cause a wave, too. We theorize that there is two waves at play, here. The Tachyons that move forward, and the secondary wave that starts at a superluminal speed but slows down. If an _object_ moved that fast, even if it was only for an instant, there would be a shockwave and there would be residue. Did everyone experience ringing in his or her ears?

Fox nodded. "Yes, but other than Kursed's scream when she was being ripped apart, there were no other sounds. It was so quiet that it was deafening."

"Anything else you heard or saw?"

"I had to avert my eyes," Krystal chimed in. "But… I did look up just in time to see colors… briefly. Green around the edges, purple at the center. She was glowing blue then there was a flash and she was gone. The flash, itself, was colorless and it hurt my eyes."

Theodore turned to his father and said, "What about …maybe we're going about this the wrong way, Dad. Maybe the gravity bomb's energy reaction is what displayed itself as the swirling portal of color. Think about it… a hyperbola in _space-time_ or maybe it was an energy vortex. The residue found on the staff is what's left over from the rip in subspace, which was contained within the field. Kursed was vaporized in the energy field, the staff is designed to absorb _and_ discharge energy, and so it passed the energy on, through it, harmlessly. It was spared from disintegration.

"They were pushed apart, like Fara suggested, and Kursed and the objects that were contained in the force field were thrown one way and the staff was thrown the other way – the staff was projected forward, energized like …a rail gun or something, carried on a tachyon particle wave," Theodore paused to take a breath then continued with the awkwardly long sentence, "created by the positive radiation she experienced and the negative effect her staff experienced. Like matter and anti-matter, it wasn't compatible and so she went one way and the staff went the other way – the staff penetrated the force field and hit the deck and stayed there until everything was over. I don't know how it went through the shield but …I'm thinking because of the energy passing through the staff at the time, it might have _phased_ through the shield."

The elder Toad rubbed at his jaw in thought. "But if there was enough energy to phase a solid object," Slippy returned, "Then Kursed or the spellstones would have phased as well. The staff is still in physical space. Everything else was vaporized or, in a sense, pulverized to powder, which is why there was ashy powder on the deck."

"Indeed, I walked through it," Krystal muttered. "To get to her staff."

"I need a sample," said Slippy. He got himself a swab and turned to Fox's wife. "Here, rub this on the space between your shoe treads."

She did so then handed him the swab. Slippy applied it to a microscope slide then slid it into a scanning bed and folded his arms. He watched the readout on yet another monitor then tilted his head. "Huh?"

Fara glanced at Marcus then back at Slippy. "What?"

"If she was vaporized," Slippy paused to rub his chin for a moment then continued. "There would be …don't take this the wrong way but there's no easy way to word it… but this powder would be _Kursed's remains_. But it's not. It's like… a powder version of plasma. A rip in space-time, like a wormhole that has created a tear in the physical universe… one of those temporal flux holes… _that_ sort of thing would leave plasma like this… but _this_ plasma has been turned to dust the way milk can be turned into dehydrated powder."

Marcus rubbed his face. "I'm telepathic and I _still_ didn't understand that."

Fara placed a paw on his wrist. "He's saying the ash left over afterwards wasn't from Kursed being turned to dust. He's suggesting a very brief rift in the physical universe caused it, leading to an underlying alternative universe that is parallel to our own. Unlike you, sweetie, I read the scientific paper that documented your parents being ejected and returned to their own time-space. She may have been killed and the radiation caused during the blue glow that came from inside of her would be a testament to that… however, her body wasn't pulverized to dust, it was thrown in the other direction of the staff."

"Then it should have gone across the room from the staff," said Fox.

Theodore shook his head. "You're not thinking fourth dimensionally; we exist in Euclidean space – every point in our existence is determined by three coordinates. She was pushed away from the staff and went into a fourth coordinate, which we can't perceive visually. The real fourth dimension, not merely time like in the movies… mathematically speaking… I'm referring to a fourth dimension in curved space-time, it's somewhere between matter and anti-matter." Theodore lifted his hands outwards, using gestures to empower his point of topic. "See, the staff was thrown towards the physical realm. She was thrown into the …whatever is on the other side of a black hole. She was thrown into some sort of anti-verse. Instead of dying, she simply _ceased to exist in the physical realm_… in our plane of existence."

Slippy lifted his own hands. "Before any of you ask, it's likely she didn't survive for several reasons. The radiation that caused the glowing… that's lethal. We can't determine that breathable air exists between dimensions and we don't know how long her body would be there. If you guys remember traveling between the planes, debris sometimes gets trapped there… remember the asteroid Falco hit that caused him to shatter his knee last year?" Slippy closed his hands but kept both of his index fingers up to keep everyone quiet.

He paused to think of how to explain himself then said, "Moving on… The spellstones have their own field around them… and that put everything into a state of quantum flux. I'm not talking about a wormhole. I'm talking about negative matter, negative energy. Her physical being, and the physical matter of those spellstones have turned inside out, possibly _became_ anti-matter in a sense… and maybe _that_ was the flash you saw, contained inside the force field. I don't know. I'm not a scientist. I'm an engineer. A mechanic. I do dabble in research and development and that was my job for Corneria for years… but _this_… this is way above my ability or comprehension. But I think she simply became thrown into a plain of anti-existence. And… I'm sorry."

Fara bit her lip. "That's just a theory, though, right? I mean… while her survival is improbable, it's not impossible, right?"

Slippy pulled up a computerized wireframe picture of a Tesseract undergoing a rotation. "Looks like it's turning inside out, doesn't it? That's what would happen to a being traveling fourth dimensionally without a way to defuse the gravity and without a force field to protect them the way we use force fields to separate matter from anti-matter. I… know the thought can be gruesome but…"

Krystal's eyes glowed as they moistened with tears. "How terrible." She glanced back at her son and shook her head at his unspoken thought. "No, babyboy… I didn't sense her after we heard her scream. I didn't sense anything more than those who were still in the room."

Marcus licked his lips apprehensively. "How… does one die in that sort of situation?"

Theodore shook his head. "It's not pleasant. Being turned inside-out doesn't kill you instantly. It takes a few seconds. Then there's… well… Crushed in a gravity eddy of that magnitude is quick but you're literally flattened like stepping on a caterpillar."

Marcus visualized it and shuddered. He could see the guts of a bug being pushed out at one end, having stepped on them as a small, uncomprehending child. It used to amuse the tyke to see the reaction when stomping on such an insect but now the thought of her fate turned his stomach.

"…Marcus," said Krystal with a frown. "Please."

"I need a minute." He felt a cold sweat on his face. His eyes stung from the salt. "I just… could the radiation have killed her before the gravity well?"

"Probably not," said Theodore in earnest. "Unless it was a high enough dose to vaporize her before the gravity well opened an anomaly hole in space-time; as my father said though, she wasn't vaporized – at least not in the physical plane… but a micro-tear would have sucked in anything within that force field. That's why I can't seem to understand why her staff was still on location. It should have gone through with her, no matter what killed her first."

Slippy placed a hand on his son's shoulder to get the boy's attention. "Anything as fast, or faster than light will pass through that field. Illumination, Tachyons… that's why I think the staff absorbed the energy of those particles and discharged them. In that instant, it flew through the field then hit the deck. It wasn't subjected to the gravity."

Crimson, who had been quiet up until now, asked, "I'm still fuzzy on how this works. Gravity is caused by something large but there was nothing particularly large in that field with her from what I'm told. Where did she go?"

Slippy turned to his son, letting the younger Toad offer an explanation.

Theodore cleared his throat and said, "We all know that, despite the common misconception, when there is a hull breach, you're _blown_ into space because the atmosphere is behind you and the vacuum is waiting for you. Well, think of a black hole in the same light, however small or temporary they may be. Whatever is on the other side, the atmosphere on this side will blow you into it. But since they're negative matter with tremendous density, they have tremendous gravity pull. So the air behind you is blowing you towards it, the gravity in front of you is pulling you into it… so it happens in an instant. You're there, and then you're in it. If it's too small to fit through it, it'll crush you up when you're inside. But that won't matter because the incredible energy used in bringing you _to_ the object will be enough to bend and twist you into sludge anyhow."

Marcus lifted his paws. "Okay, okay. She's dead. We don't …_I_ don't need details that cause me to visualize this. I'm just trying to ascertain whether or not she could wind up back in her old dimension _alive_."

Theodore shrugged. "I can't be sure of anything except our own understanding of theoretical science. There's no way to know what happened for sure. Maybe the vortex that swallowed her was a million miles in size, but only a few inches or a few feet of it is visible in the Euclidean 'third dimension' timespace plane. Just saying. No one truly understands how it works because Lylat doesn't have the capacity to study that sort of thing yet."

Marcus' fennec mate touched his elbow and said, "Hon, anything is possible. No matter how probable or improbable, there's always a possibility. Perhaps she's there right now with her spellstones, scratching her forehead."

Theodore glanced nervously at Marcus then back at Fara and shook his head. Marcus saw the gesture and asked, "Why not?"

Toad moved back towards one of the scanners and, quite reverently, said, "Last time, she was in a ship. The chances of there being a corebase in that exact location of orbit over Venom is not exactly a comforting fraction of a possibility. And for it to be so perfectly lined up that she wouldn't wind up in a bulkhead only makes things worse. And for her to survive that sort of pressure on her body without shields and a hull to protect her… now you've slimmed her chances of survival to a level that is beyond… Just…"

"But in her universe, there's no Sauria or Fichina. Maybe the orbit of Venom has been altered just enough that she could appear…"

"…In the sky or in the planet, which would still be fatal… but in a different way," Theodore replied. "Look, Marcus, I'm not trying to shoot down every possibility of hope, here, but I'm a realist and I need you to realize that it's time we start planning to avenge her." He took the staff off of the lab bench and struck it against the side of the metallic table. Most of the charred layer flaked off with ease. Beneath, the staff appeared completely unscathed. "The good news is… the staff itself wasn't charred; it was covered in some sort of build up, which, itself, was charred. The staff has retained full functionality and is at operational status. She would have wanted you to have it again, I'm sure. Let me know if there's anything different about it… if the induction charging time is extended or diminished, or if the amount of charge it holds has changed… anything. If you find anything wrong or changed in any way, I'll investigate it further."

"Thanks," said Marcus, taking the staff back. "I'll take it back to my quarters and clean it." He placed the base against the deck and looked closely at the tip. There was a very faint dark discoloration at the top from the blackened bloodstain where he'd pierced its owner last year. It wasn't nearly as dark anymore; most of the coloration had flaked off with the charred buildup. A sigh passed his lips.

"I suggest you make sure it still works," Krystal replied. "Testing your equipment is one of the first priorities of a good mercenary."

Marcus activated the staff's energy shield. The field appeared but was nearly invisible. Instead of its usual blue glow, the field output was a mere hazy distortion, like heat waves hovering overtop of the hood of a car on a hot summer day. "I think it's probably broken. Well… that's depressing."

"Try the other features," said Slippy. "Just to be sure."

Marcus smirked then pointed the staff away from the group and activated the fire blaster option. The tip opened and, instead of a small ball of plasmatic fire, an intense beam emanated from the staff, ripping through the bulkhead with ease. It passed into the next bulkhead across the hallway. Marcus, startled, deactivated the staff and dropped it on the floor all in one motion.

Krystal snatched it up and inspected the dirty staff closely. "What in the name of Cerinia happened to this thing?" She carried it out of the lab and into the testing bay adjacent to the laboratory. The room was larger and had various scanning tools along the far wall. She activated the shield, which appeared nearly invisible like a moment ago. "Marcus, come in here."

Everyone followed Marcus McCloud into the testing bay. He sensed his mother's intentions and retrieved an emergency blaster from a compartment on the wall. He set it to stun and pointed it at the outer aura of the distortion field, which surrounded her. Instead of deflecting the round, the energy blast disappeared upon contact with the field.

"Try a higher setting."

"Okay." Marcus ramped up the power level then fired again. Same as before; instead of deflecting the round, the blaster's discharge disappeared upon contact with the hazy field. He tilted his head then upped the setting again. He fired at the field, above her head, so that it wouldn't hurt her just in case it didn't protect her. The round struck the shield then disappeared. Marcus increased the blaster's setting to its highest level then charged the shot. A plasma energy bubble glowed in front of the barrel of the weapon. He released the trigger. The intense blast struck the shield and disappeared, having been absorbed completely. The energy discharged vanished on contact with the field, leaving no trace.

Krystal glanced down at the half-hidden power level indicator set into the staff's engravings then blinked. "Your energy attacks are charging this staff."

"It's _absorbing_ the energy and _storing_ it?" asked Fara. She glanced at Slippy for an explanation. The frog shrugged to the fennec in reply.

Theodore glanced back at his father and Crimson then stepped forward from the group. Lucy was adjacent to the doorway; only Vivian was out on the bridge with Rob. Lucy cleared her throat and asked, "What about its weapon attack; what effect will it have on Krystal's staff and its shield? Krys, would you like me to retrieve it for you?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you, Luce." She watched the rabbit leave then cut her eyes to Theodore. "You had something to add? Go on."

He put his hat back on his head. "Yes ma'am, Mrs. McCloud. I just wanted to know if the other abilities worked? I mean, uh, I wouldn't want you testing the super-quake application here on the ship but… the other abilities perhaps?"

"Let's find out." She turned Kursed's staff away from the group and initiated the freeze ability. A cloud of fine white mist swirled in front of the staff. "Seems no different than before…"

"Mom, wait… look!"

Fox came around his son and peered towards the bulkhead across the room. Ten meters away a section of the wall became glossy from ice. The deck plate between the staff and the bulkhead became slick and shiney. He watched as the ice became thicker, creating a layer two centimeters thick after just a few seconds of use. "Okay, hold up."

Krystal deactivated the staff's ice blaster and pointed it upwards. She knelt and observed the trail of ice. It extended all the way to the wall across the room. "Okay, it's different. Seems supercharged, perhaps? Obviously I can't use the boost ability in here. I don't want to be sent clear into the ceiling… and I doubt the lock ability will do anything since we're not on Sauria but… I'll activate it uncase that power was also mutated somehow."

She ran her thumb across the dirt encrusted etching near the fulcrum then activated the staff. Everyone in the room gasped, seeing every door in the vicinity open as if by wireless remote. Three exits in the lab test room opened. All the doors in the main laboratory opened. Every door in sight opened. Marcus went out through one and glanced down the hallway then looked back at everyone in the room. "It worked for every single door in the hallway. How is that even possible? It's a weapon's staff… it was built to work with technology made by the Krazoa. Their doors, the ones that were used around the planet as… it's not…" Marcus blinked then gasped. "Oh for the love of the goddess." He dashed out of the room and down the hall.

Fox blinked, looking back at Crimson, Fara and the Toad family. "What did I just miss?"

Krystal brought a paw to her muzzle. "I sense he's brighter than the rest of us."

Theodore brought his palm to his forehead, pushing his hat up from his brows. "He's going to check the flight deck, isn't he?"

Krystal nodded and Fox groaned in realization. "Smart kid." He brought his left wrist up and spoke into his communicator. "Rob, do a shipwide diagnostic; check for any door that isn't currently open. Log the phenomena and try to determine a perimeter or pattern that shows open doors in relation to the Alpha Lab test bay. See if you can find some sort of range or distance this anomaly has on the GreatFox Carrier."

Four seconds later, Rob replied. "Every electronic door on GreatFox Carrier has opened. Only the airlocks, which need to be manually cycled by turning a hatch valve, are still closed. Also, all the doors on the GreatFox dreadnaught are reported to be open but there is no one currently on that ship to verify it. I'm sending a wireless signal to that ship to close all automated doors immediately and to run a computer diagnostic. I will have a report for you as soon as possible."

Fox and Krystal exchanged glances.

Crimson rubbed his chin. "What about the fighters? Nova bomb hatch doors? Engine maintenance hatch doors? The cockpit canopies? Are they open, too?"

Fox spoke into his computer gauntlet again. "Marcus, all the doors on both ships are open. The dreadnaught is six kilometers away. Check the fighters while you're down there. Just make sure you pressurize the flight deck before you go out onto it."

"Obviously, Dad," said Marcus over the line. "The atmospheric force field is in place on the flight deck. If it weren't, we'd have all been blown out into space by now. _EVERY SINGLE DOOR_ on the ship is open… and you say it's that way on the other ship, too?"

"Affirmative."

A few seconds later, Marcus' voice returned to the channel. "All canopies are closed; all hatches and bomb-bay doors on the fighters are unaffected. However, Kursed's shuttle's interior doors are open, except for the cockpit hatch. But the rear-cargo ramp door is down. I guess it only works on doors that have an automated mechanism. Anything that requires the turning of a knob or other form of manual release seems to be unaffected." A second later, he added, "It's really awkward walking through Kursed's shuttle. I'm performing a manual override on the flight deck bay doors."

Lucy returned with the staff that belonged to Krystal, having come through one of the open doors. "I thought to myself that I hope you guys don't lock your quarters… then, to my surprise, every door on the ship opened at the same time. So… here it is."

Fox took the staff and said, "Yeah, it's a long story." He twirled it in his powerful palms then aimed it towards Krystal. "Aren't these weapons tuned to themselves, so that they'll infiltrate one another's shield frequency? Theoretically, the only thing that should penetrate the shield of _that_ staff is an attack from _this_ one."

Krystal nodded. "Let's test it." She activated the shield of Kursed's staff and held it outwards and arm's length. "Okay, Fox… hit the shield with a blaster round from that staff."

Fox took careful aim and then fired, hitting the invisible bubble surrounding the other staff. The plasma blaster round passed through the shield harmlessly and out the other side. Before anyone could make a comment, all the doors in the area began to close from ROB's computerized command to secure all ship doors.

Fox activated the blue shield for the staff he, himself, once used on Sauria's surface. He laid the shielded staff against the nearest bulkhead then moved away from it. Krystal took aim and fired on it with Kursed's blasters. The massive energy discharge not only penetrated the shield, it knocked the staff over so hard that there was an indentation of it imprinted in the bulkhead. Same as before, the enormously powerful energy release ripped through two bulkheads, leaving holes out into the hallway.

"Oh my," Krystal murmured. "It appears that Kursed's staff has changed so dramatically that it's become much more than a weapon now… but the shielding frequency is the same, despite the fact that her staff is now more powerful."

Theodore cleared his throat. "And the only thing that can harm you inside of its shield is _your_ staff. Have they always been able to penetrate one another's shield barrier?"

"Yes. They have," said Krystal. "However, the staff's shield has never been able to stand up against certain forms of radiation. I'm beginning to become curious if this new shield can stand up to things that it couldn't withstand before."

"We'll have to run more tests," said Theodore. "Leave both staffs with us so we can compare and contrast them. Who knows, there might be something your staff's shield can block but Kursed's shield can't… like a new Achilles heel. The more we know about it the better." The younger Toad turned to Fox and held out a webbed hand, palm up. "I'll need your wristband computer. It has internal sensors and creates a small data log – dad's doing. I want to check for neutrino… ah hell, it'd be faster to download the log then to explain it."

Fox unclasped the gauntlet then passed it to Slippy's son. "How is it that you guys know so much about this fancy stuff? We're mercenaries… not scientists."

Slippy grinned. "Fox, I worked as a Research and Development coordinator to keep us afloat in our broke days before the job on Sauria. Once you get into particle weapons, and once your father builds a jump gate that allows us to bounce from one sector to another… and once you read a few of his papers… well, let's just say I know enough to be dangerous. Teddy, here, is doing what most kids do… exceeding their parents." He waved to Ted and added, "We're going to need to run some tests and we'll need more computer power to do it… so, you head over to the dreadnaught and I'll stay here on the carrier."

"You got it, pops." Theodore tipped the brim of his hat to Krystal and Fara. "Ma'am… ma'am…" then he nodded to Fox, "Mister McCloud, sir." Then he left the room.

Crimson rubbed the side of his face. "I'm afraid I'm not sure why you guys are running so many tests on that staff. What does it prove? We're spending man hours on something other than trying to figure out how to destroy this Anezka chick or, at the very least, to figure out how we can stop her from helping Venom go on another attack run… or is that what this is about? Does studying that staff somehow help us figure out her apparent powers or whatever?"

Slippy left the room, heading back into the other end of the lab to get started. Lucy followed to offer her help as a lab assistant. Fara glanced at Fox and said, "I'm just here because Corneria gave me off so I can help Marcus do whatever it takes to protect Corneria. I think I'll head down and speak to Asper. It's about time he receives a debriefing. Protocol and all that." And, with that, she left the room as well.

Krystal saw her husband rub the backside of his neck and smiled. She turned to Crimson and put a paw on his shoulder. "This way." They began walking together. She left both Cerinian staffs with Fox in the testing bay next to the lab. Once out in the hall, she turned to Crimson and placed her paw on his face, gently. "My, you certainly do have a bit of McCloud blood in you, don't you? Strange that Marcus still doesn't really know. It doesn't matter. I can see Vixy McCloud's eyes; you've also got the same front teeth as my husband and his mother. I suppose Marcus took a few details from James' side of the family, hmm? Not to mention my parents. Mm, no matter." She patted his face and smiled but it was apparent by her expression and her eyes that the vixen was exhausted, especially after what she'd just witnessed.

The tired vixen rubbed her thumb over his cheek then shook her head. "Crimson, Kursed wasn't a very good person. But we worked hard to make her a _better_ person and, in the end, we found ourselves rather successful in our efforts. She began working with us and started to grow on us. Then, just as she was starting to make positive strides… she's taken from us. Struck down. It was too sudden. No one expected it. No one was ready in their hearts for this sort of sting. We simply want to know what happened to her. It's akin to doing an autopsy but because there's no body, we have to look at every clue still available to us. Right now, those clues are in the staff, because it's the only thing to have survived."

He looked down for a moment, listening to her. Red lifted his gaze, peering into her swirling violet hues. "Mrs. McCloud, what about doing the job we came to do? Destroying that core base? The report says that they have prototype gravity bombs and that she even used one. That means they're more dangerous than we originally thought. We have to stop them _now_ before they can bolster their forces and their strength even more than it already is. Time is short."

"Slippy and Theodore are working on the bit about the staff… _staffs_. The _rest_ of us will work on destroying that core base and its supply of prototype weapons. Now… everyone is working on something right as of this moment. Except you… so, I have a job for you."

"Oh yeah?"

"You're in the academy, but… did I hear right that you've already committed yourself to flying for Corneria?"

The young man nodded in reply. "Yeah, that's right."

"Then you need to go down to the brig and write a report about Dash Bowman and Andrew Oikonny, don't you? You can use our communication's array to forward your report to one of the Cornerian Generals. Plus, it seems you have some sort of unfinished business with Dash. He disrespected you, shot you and left you on the side of the road for two days. Normally, I would say that an unbiased officer should talk to that man… but we're mercenaries. We have to look out for ourselves. And something tells me you'd actually _like_ to have the chance to talk to him while he's in the brig. Sound like a plan?"

"It's a deal," replied Crimson. "So should I refer to you as 'Aunt Krystal' or something? I mean… how does this work? All these years and I've never really talked to Marcus about being his cousin. I don't even know where to begin or how to explain it."

"Call me whatever you like. But if it makes you more comfortable, just call me what you've _been_ calling me."

"What… '_Star's Mom_' works for you?" He offered her a grin then said, "Just call me Red. It's easier. I'll be down in the brig." He offered her a smile then left the hallway.

Krystal smiled inwardly and began walking the hall. "Kursed… if only I had the chance to say more to you. And we need your help in fighting this half-breed Krazoa woman. If you were alive, I wonder what you'd be thinking about _right now_."

x-

* * *

**The eroded brick made for an uncomfortable pillow.** There was pain… right behind the temples, but as consciousness came, more pain followed. A stiff neck, bruises, aching joints and muscles. It wasn't a pleasant experience. Next, there was sound. Voices. Cornerian words.

"Trace scans show that a neutrino envelope expanded in the chamber up ahead. But I'm also seeing _anti-neutrino_ residue, which may have been the catalyst."

Another voice said, "Catalyst for what? I thought the tremor was geological?"

"No sir," said the first voice. "I think the tremor we felt was from vibrations." The first voice was feminine. "I'm afraid I don't have a lot more to offer. Something caused a curvature and a micro-tear in time-space. Whatever came through was delivered in a neutrino envelope and floated on the wave of a Tachyon beam that came from the fissure – perhaps a wormhole, spitting out something from…wherever. Oh my goddess! I'm reading a _biosign_ up ahead; it wasn't there until just a few seconds ago!"

The voice was so familiar. Seconds later, the two people came into the room. The woman rushed over, putting her scanning device away. She retrieved a medical kit. The other Cornerian, a man, placed a paw over his muzzle. "Oh heavens! It's Krystal from Cerinia!"

"She's _who_?" the girl asked.

"Doctor Granton, surely you've heard of the alien female from a distant planet. She stayed in Lylat for a few years and joined the StarFox mercenary squadron but then she was killed in the line of duty." He glanced down at his scanner and added, "I've got temporal flux readings. She looks as young as she did when she was on the front of several science magazines just a few years ago… but according to these scans, and from her rate of cellular…" he trailed off for a moment and used his thumb to navigate a capacitive touch screen on the scanner. "She's from the future. At least a decade or two in the future." He looked passed the scanner and said, "Miss Krystal, we thought you were killed in action. There was a huge story on the news a few years ago… your body was pulled from an Arwing wreck. You were buried. You _are_ Krystal aren't you? You sure look like her."

Kursed sat up with a groan. "Where am I?" Her eyes zeroed in on footprints. Whoever left them wore dress shoes. A small round hole adjacent to the small prints suggested the individual used a gentleman's cane. For a moment, her thoughts turned briefly to her watcher, Darius Vai.

The voice shook her from her reverie. "Try not to move too much until I check you out. Stay calm," said the lady.

"You're on Sauria," the man added.

Kursed tilted her head and looked at the woman then blinked. "Carey Granton…?"

The woman blinked in return. "You know my name?"

"You're Bliss O'Donnell's girlfriend," said Kursed. She brought a paw to the side of her head with a groan. "I always thought it was a strange pairing. The smart girl and the strong girl."

Granton blinked again. "Bliss… who? I don't know anyone by that name."

The male scientist glanced back at the scanner again. "I think Wolf O'Donnell is the only '_O'Donnell_' that _I_ know." He paused then added, "I'm reading low levels of radiation. She's going to need a detox bath immediately. It might be from whatever caused the subspace anomaly that we detected in this area. I'm still seeing trace patterns of temporal flux on a cellular level. We need a larger scanner to be sure; then again this handheld scanner might also be receiving false readings because of the subspace anomaly. There's a lot going on, here. The readings might be messing with the equipment."

"They may be right," said Kursed in a soft tone. "What year is it? Cornerian rotations…"

The man's response surprised her. As he spoke, her mind began to wonder, running through everything that happened up to this point. Her heart began to race and his words were lost as her attention went in every other direction. Finally she whispered the words, "Twenty-five years…"

"Pardon, ma'am?"

Kursed shook her head rapidly. "N-nothing. It's nothing. Wait, did you say I was thought to have died?"

"You were buried; the first out-of-system alien to come through Lylat and it was a shocking blow when you were killed. It happened before the Anglar attack. StarFox struggled and the war lasted about three weeks but they finally defeated the Anglars when Andrew Oikonny, of all people, discovered that his uncle had hidden a device on Tatiana that allowed Cornerian forces to attack Venom directly. Dash Bowman, who is related to Andrew, met with his cousin and stole the device. It created a huge rift between those two. They were enemies before, but now… now they're… it's a long story. Fox has disappeared from combat fighting after that. He moved here, to Sauria, and has a house far away from the Cornerian colonies on this planet. He lives alone. He wasn't the same since your death… it's really strange to see you here, alive."

Granton turned to her colleague. "Can you give us a few minutes alone? I, uh, need to remove her clothing to check for other injuries." As soon as the male scientist left the area, Carey leaned in close and whispered, "I don't know anyone named Bliss O'Donnell, but… _nobody_ knows I'm a lesbian. I mean, not even my _parents_ know. I tell men that I'm more interested in science than sex and, so far, no one has said anything but I'm very, _very_ private about my sex life. I don't know how you know but _please_ keep it to yourself."

Kursed brought her paws to her face, rubbing gently. "I, uh… I'm telepathic. But I hit my head pretty hard. I knew a woman named Bliss O'Donnell who was only interested in smart females. Sorry, it just… came out when I saw you. I didn't mean to out you… I'll tell your friend that I was dazed and confused when you both found me. And, regardless of what you told him to make him leave the area… you're right… we should check and make sure I've not sustained any other injuries. I feel light headed."

"How did you get here? Tell me the truth."

"Fine. I'll keep your secret if you keep mine."

Granton nodded. "Okay, start explaining."

"I'm from another dimension, twenty-five years in the future. In that dimension, you were dating Bliss O'Donnell." Kursed rubbed her jaw in thought. "Hey, wait a second… come to think of it, you were the same age in the future as you appear now. Bliss shouldn't even be born yet. How in the hell did _you_ get so young?"

Carey stared at her for a moment. "I have to admit I have no idea what you're talking about. You said I'm in my early twenties… _twenty-five years_ in the future? Well… my parents got together when they were thirteen and fourteen respectively. I'm not sure how I can be the same age at a different time, where you came from."

Kursed furrowed her brows. "Strange. Things _did_ happen differently in this universe. You and I spent some time together, alone, working as a team to build a device that I'd rather not talk about. You told me that you felt like you couldn't really understand your parents. In return they couldn't understand you because they were thirty-eight and thirty-nine, respectively, when you were born. They were in their fifties when you were a teenager so there was a generational disconnect."

"That's… weird. It didn't happen like that. At least not for me. They were together in highschool, broke up after I was born, got back together, broke up again, and then their marriage stabilized after I was legal. I just figured being so young and having a baby together was what put a strain on them."

Kursed shook her head. "I think you told me that they were the same way in the other timeline. You surmised that they waited so long to have a baby because they wanted to wait until their relationship stabilized from maturity. Sounds like there was a disconnect between you and them in _this_ timeline, too."

"So was Gerard right, ma'am? Are you Krystal?"

"I… yes. Just call me…" she trailed off then sighed, running her fingers back through her hair. "You can just call me Krystal instead of 'ma'am' alright?" Kursed offered a weary smile then rolled onto her side. "Okay, let's check for injuries… zipper is on the side and my arm hurts. Nothing funny, though. I don't swing that way, heh."

Granton had an awkward expression on her face. "I uh… don't judge me."

"Don't worry. I don't. I have an immense respect for you; like I said, we worked together where I came from. Don't… don't tell that guy, Gerard, that I'm from another dimension. It's difficult for anyone to swallow and… even me. I just… I think this all happened for a reason. I need to see Fox and let him know that I'm alive."

Granton pulled out her cellphone and did a website search on 'Krystal the alien' then handed her phone over to the blue-furred vixen. "Here, you read this and I'll check you for injury."

Kursed looked at the small screen and read through the article. Her breath caught. "Oh my word. It says here that, in the funeral speech, Fox said he wanted to push me off the team for my own safety but… that he decided against it… and now he regrets it because I was killed a short time later and now he has to live with his decisions and that he blames himself. In my timeline, he _did_ kick me off his team and I was angry with him. I was livid. I even ran off and dated one of his archenemies just to be spiteful. And to think I felt slighted… he inadvertently saved my life. According to this article, I die on a mission at his side when damage to my Arwing caused a system failure. The computer shut down and caused me to crash."

"Well…" Carey cleared her throat, having thoughts that made Kursed cringe. The girl said, "You look remarkably young for a woman who should be in her late forties. And, uh, maybe now you and Fox can patch things up and do everything the right way. When does that article say you died?"

"According to what year this is supposed to be, and according to the article I'm reading here… my doppelganger died two years ago. Marcus should be conceived sometime within the next three months."

Granton chuckled in a way that suggested it was an awkward topic. "Yeah… babies… ugh. Uhm… well, sometimes science fiction writers theorize that different dimensions sometimes try to create events that will slowly merge occurrences until they match one another. Maybe this Marcus fellow can still be conceived sometime within the next three months in order to coincide with the other timelines of other dimensions."

A slight smile tugged at the corner of the blue-furred vixen's muzzle. "Perhaps you're right. A lot can happen in three months… a lot of good things, that is."

A voice came from further down the underground tunnel. "HEY! Carey! Are you done? I found something _incredible!_"

Kursed's eyes widened, sensing the man's thoughts. "In the next cavern over, leading into a sublevel of a Krazoan Palace, he found… the second set of spellstones! _MY_ set." She eased up onto an elbow but Carey pushed her back down.

"Wait until I finish checking you for injuries. You might strain something or pull or tear something. Just wait." She cleared her throat then called back in a loud voice. "Be right there. Just hang tight, Gerard!" Carey looked back at Kursed and took either side of her face in her palms. In a soft voice, she said, "Miss Krystal, don't you know you aren't supposed to tell me anything that might change the timeline? Besides, this Bliss O'Donnell girl, if she _is_ born in this space-time plane, would be too young for me to date. Perhaps I'm destined to be lonely in this timeline."

Kursed smirked. "Perhaps you're destined to be a _sugar-momma_ in this timeline."

Granton offered a coy hint of a grin. She zipped up Kursed's flight suit then told her, "You're fine except a few bruises. Expect to hurt later on. It looks like you fell from about fifteen feet and rolled. Whatever the case may be, you'll need to take things easy for a little while. And be glad the ceiling of these tunnels are so damn high. If they weren't, you might have wound up in the rock when you appeared"

"Fair enough." The vixen got to her feet with a grunt then dusted herself off and, with Carey's help, she ambled towards the direction of the male scientist's voice. She wondered if she may have appeared somewhere fatal all together; seeing the foot prints with the cane impression had her thinking about Darius; did he somehow teleport in, save her and drop her off where she'd be found? She'd have to inquire next time she sensed him in the immediate area. The cavern opened up and the dirt walls became lined with ancient stones. Kursed looked about then frowned, remembering Anezka. "She's still trapped down here; I hope she stays down here forever."

"Who're you talking about?" asked Carey.

The blue-furred vixen shook her head. "Nevermind. I'm just thinking aloud. Don't mind me. So… the spellstones… I need to have Cornerian scientists study them. Do you want the job?"

"Are you kidding? I'm a theoretical physicist with a degree in quantium…"

Kursed lifted her paws. "Yes, yes, I forgot. By all means. I'll take them to," she trailed off then smiled slightly. "Who is the fleet General of Corneria's Air Guard?"

"General Peppy Hare."

Kursed nodded with a chuckle. "Yes, of course. I'll give them to him. Let's gather them up. I need to make sure they don't have any strange repulsory effects. Then I wish to go and find Fox McCloud if he really lives on this planet."

They arrived in the large chamber where Gerard was studying the four stones. They lay on their sides, adjacent to one another. Satisfied that they lost their 'reverse-polarity' properties, Kursed picked one up and looked it over. "I'll give you both time to study these later. I'm taking them with me to see Fox then I'll be donating them to Corneria but I'll be recommending you both to be first in line to study these artifacts. The story behind how I received them is… not really important right now. I just need to go and see Fox before I do anything else."

Gerard looked up then back down at his scanner. "My old science colleague would know about his residence. Hold tight." He put his scanner onto his belt and pulled out a communicator, setting the call-mode to 'speaker phone' for public viewing. "Okay, we're going live for a video chat."

Seconds later, the holographic head of a frog appeared above the man's communicator. Kursed's eyes widened. She stepped closer to Gerard so that the emitters would display her figure in return on Slippy's end… she knew he saw her because his own eyes seemed to bulge out of the top of his head. Silence. Finally Slippy spoke first. "Krystal! You're alive! I can't believe it!"

"Believe it," she said. "I need to find Fox. And I don't want you to warn him… I need to be the first one to talk to him so I can explain everything. It's… _really_ important."

"I thought you died! I saw… I s-s-_saw_ you die!"

"It's complicated, Slippy. But I'm here and I need to see him. It's important."

"He's going to be difficult to find so I'm just going to upload coordinates. You should find a shuttle because it's pretty secluded."

"Thank you… how's Amanda?"

"How'd you know?" asked Slippy. "I met her shortly _after_ you died."

Kursed shook her head. "Like I said, I'll explain later. You guys are perfect for each other. You two should be engaged right now, correct?"

"Yes, you're right! We haven't set a date yet but… how'd you know?"

She deadpanned then sighed. "I'm telepathic, remember? Look, just… thank you for uploading the coordinates. I appreciate it. I'll make sure we contact you after he and I have a chance to talk. I just needed to work things out."

"I'm so happy you're back! Fox is going to be _so _happy to see you!"

The vixen looked away and coughed to conceal the flushness that was creeping into her face. "Yeah, well, that's the plan. See you later, Slippy Toad." She reached over Gerard's wristwatch communicator and deactivated the line. "Do you have a shuttle?"

Carey spoke up over Gerard, "We do. We can drop you off wherever you need to go. I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic so believe me when I tell you that I'm excited for you." She began to gather up the spellstones, putting two into her backpack. Gerard put the other two into his own pack.

"Then let's hurry. I fear Fox has waited long enough for this day, hmm?" Kursed licked her lips then gestured with her paws. "Lead the way back to the surface, back to your shuttle." She tilted her head then changed her tone. "If you two are quantum physicists, then what are you doing down here exploring the Krazoa ruins?"

Gerard stuffed his paws into his pockets. "Well, miss Krystal, years ago Beltino Toad came to study the transporter pads found throughout the Krazoa Temples. They allow a person to be broken down into molecular data patterns then beamed to another pad and reassembled. A year later we invented the Instant Transmission technology and shield barriers. Because of Beltino's son, StarFox was commissioned to test the equipment and even used it against the Aparoids. Anyhow, we're a survey team that has come to study other forms of ancient Krazoa technology with the hopes of reverse engineering whatever we can find. We were hired and sent here by a patent company that wants us to find new and useful things for them to re-invent, market and sell. You know this planet, don't you? Is there anything we should look for?"

"How about the levitating elevator platforms used in the Krazoa Palace?" Kursed rubbed her face again. "Is your shuttle very far?"

Carey gave Gerard a glare. "She's exhausted; leave her be, Jerry." She turned her gaze back to the youthful looking vixen and said, "No, Miss Krystal. It's not far at all."

x-

* * *

**Kursed narrowed her gaze.** _A sane man would not dare defy me again,_she thought as she brushed her cerulean tresses, shoving the bangs into soft waves. Satisfied, she clipped several white beads to several azure locks. Her mirror image stared back with wide-set green eyes, and expressive mouth.

"You keep quiet," she said. _Oh good heavens! This whole mess has me talking to a mirror!_ She slammed her hairbrush down. "All right," she said to her image, "I can't go to Panther. I can't tell anyone about Andross' gravity bomb attack because it may not happen in this timeline." Her reflection said nothing. "Know something? You are no help," Kursed taunted. "And I never liked your nose. Too small, and the whiskers turn up a little." She sighed. "I won't make the same mistake of naming my son 'Star', though. If anything were to happen in this universe… I'd name him Marcus right from the beginning." Her vibrant emerald hues lacked the mauve glow of the Krazoa spirit. "And I'll focus more on teaching him how to use his abilities before he reaches sixteen this time." She nodded with a measure of finality.

"Krystal?" The name caused the vixen to perk. She'd not responded to it in so long yet it felt normal to do so. Her eyes lifted, meeting those of Carey Granton. The girl smiled, standing in the doorway to the shuttle's bedroom. "We're descending on Fox's home. But sensors show there are no bio-signs in the house."

"Let's take a look," she replied. Kursed stepped from the mirror and licked her lips. She looked down at the makeup kit synthesized by Granton but decided against using the silly chemicals on her face. She headed back towards the aft hatch and straightened the Cornerian blouse and flowing skirt. "Okay… I'm ready to do this."

"We'll wait here until you give us a signal," said Carey. "Good luck."

Kursed embraced the girl gently then kissed her forehead. "You've been a good girl for me. Keep your nose clean, hmm?" She exchanged a smile with the girl then turned back to the hatch. A green light flickered then the hatch opened. Kursed walked off the ship and up to the front door of the shoddy shack.

It was unlocked; she let herself inside. Kursed's eyes flitted about, taking in the drab scenery. "Hmm, needs a woman's touch."

She made her way through the living room into a hallway that led to a dimly lit bedroom. Inside, the curtains were drawn. Kursed opened them, brightening the room considerably. Something glassy glinted in the corner by the nightstand. She approached, settled onto the bed and picked up a photograph. Her heart immediately ached. A photograph of her and Fox together. In the picture, she wore his ring.

Memories rushed over her like a wave. Her ear perked up. Kursed blinked then set the photograph back on the nightstand. Her eyes widened, sensing a new presence in the area. She flipped open her communicator and said, "Krystal to Granton; he's back in the area. Thank you for your help. I'm not sure if I ever thanked you in the other dimension but… but I promise I won't ask you to help me in the same way as I did before – you've done more than enough, here. Thank you."

"If you need anything," squeaked the little speaker, "Just let me know. Thank you for the gift. I'll take them back to Corneria right away for scientific research."

"Sure, no problem. Krystal out." She closed the small device and tossed it onto the nightstand then hurried out into the living room and began opening all the curtains to let light into the cabin. She wasn't sure why but she began straightening up everything she saw. She sensed Fox was growing closer with every footfall he made. She hurried over to the sink and pulled out all the dishes and stuffed them into a bin under the counter. "He doesn't even have a dishwasher? How… quaint." Once the sink was empty, she shut the cupboard beneath the sink to hide the dishes then she started picking up his laundry. Again, she wasn't sure _why_ she was doing it… but something about meeting up with him in a dirty house felt cheap.

Kursed hurried back to the bedroom and began making the bed. She tucked the blanket in at the foot of the bed then heard the front door open. Again, her ear flickered. She sensed Fox's immediate confusion, seeing a clean, well-illuminated house. A grin tugged at the corner of her muzzle, sensing that he appreciated it, even though the confusion was overpowering him. She went to the bedside and turned the photograph towards the door, moving it to the center of the nightstand so that it was illuminated by the late afternoon sunlight filtering in through the window. She hurried into the corner and sat down on a reclining chair and waited.

After the longest moment of her life, the bedroom door opened. Fox's eyes went to the sun-lit bed first then he approached the nightstand and picked up the photograph, which seemed to glow in the ethereal sunlight. A light layer of dust floated about in the sunbeam, giving it a dreamy glowing quality. He stood there, studying the picture for a moment then he sighed. She could feel heartbreak and guilt emanating from him. He put the picture back on the nightstand then positioned it face down on the wooden surface.

She smirked. He didn't even know she was there yet. "Oh, I don't know Fox… I always thought that was a cute shot. You used to use that as your online image on one of those silly social media sites for a while as I recall."

The voice startled him. He turned about; his eyes were pinholes from the sunlight and he squinted to see who sat in the chair at the far corner of the room. "Who is there?"

She stood up and approached him slowly. Kursed moved around the bed and into the lighting cast by the window so that he could see her. She shuttered, sensing his heart nearly stop. A grin tugged at the corner of her muzzle again. "You look like you've seen a ghost. But we both know ghosts exist… they're up in the mountains, in the Krazoa Palace." All at once she felt his heart leap in his chest. She opened her arms and took a step towards him. He leapt towards her and embraced her.

The vixen squeaked, feeling her body lifted from the floor. He pivoted, spinning her about in the bedroom. Endorphins. She sensed incredible joy and it was contagious. She wrapped her arms around him in return and, for the first time in what felt like far too long, she laughed as he spun her about.

"KRYSTAL! You're alive! I can touch you; you're real!"

She couldn't help but laugh, sensing his glee. "Is that you're way of telling me you missed me?"

He returned her to her feet and took either side of her face in his palms. "I miss you; I adore you – I _love you_." His words caused her heart to pound furiously in her chest. He continued speaking. "I thought I lost you forever. I … I buried you; how is this possible? Is this something I didn't know about Cerinian people? Oh my goddess, I've missed you; I thought you were gone forever and I felt so lost without you."

"Like Fara, I'm not gone forever."

Fox blinked in confusion once again. "Fara? I …don't know _anyone_ named Fara."

"You've never met…?" Kursed quirked a brow then shook her head. Apparently something else that was different from where she'd come. "Nevermind. It's a long story. Fox, the way I got here… it's complicated. I mean _really_ complicated. But all that matters is …I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere. Nothing is going to take me away from you again. We can…" She felt herself grow choked up with emotion and tears filled her eyes. "We can… finally, _finally_ be together. Forever. We're a team, remember? Team McCloud, darling. You and me." By the time she got to her last word, she was sobbing.

Fox clung to her as if afraid to let her go. She returned the embrace.

"Krystal, I don't know how this is possible but… I spent our anniversary in the Krazoa Temple and I got it all off my chest this morning. I opened up and let it all out and I felt like I was finally able to move forward with life and… they heard my prayers, Krystal. The Krazoa _heard my prayers_. I begged to have you back."

"Anniversary?" she whispered.

He kissed the side of her face then whispered against her cheek. "I proposed to you today." He pushed his paw into his pocket and withdrew the engagement ring he'd given to her before the fatal crash. He snatched her left paw and abruptly pushed it onto her finger. "Never take that off. Please." He lifted his eyes, looking into hers. "I have all your jewelry; the ceremonial pieces from Cerinia. They're in the safe I keep in my closet. I can't believe you're standing right here, right now. I can't believe my prayers came true. I'm… I can't even tell you how happy I am to see you. By the goddess, you're gorgeous."

She grinned at his praise, practically basking in it. She flexed her left paw then looked back down at the sparkling ring, illuminated by the sunlight coming from the window. "I haven't seen this in a long, long time."

"Let me look at you," he said, stepping back. He put his paws on her face then moved them to her shoulders. "You look as beautiful as the day I met you atop the Krazoa Palace. I can't even begin to describe how lovely you look." Again, his eyes teared up. "I'm so glad you're back. I had no idea that when I met you I'd fall in love with you like this. I had no idea how much you completed my life until you were gone; I felt so empty and alone and incomplete without you."

His words were a surprising blitz on her heart. She was overcome by his emotional outburst and the sincerity was overwhelming. The vixen felt overjoyed but she also felt lightheaded. It was all so much at once. The blue-furred Cerinian swooned.

Fox drew her into his arms again in a protective way. She whispered to him against his shoulder. "So much as happened. You never put me into danger and it was never your fault. This was all a huge misunderstanding. I love you, Fox and I felt like we both did things that hurt one another but it's all in the past now. And I never wanted you to feel like I was a burden that you had to protect or anything of that nature… I'm here to stay and _nothing_ can take me away from you."

"You gave your life to save me from an attack," Fox said in a soft voice. "I would have done the same for you… I wish I had. But you sensed the attack before my instincts could kick in and you gave your life to save mine; the damage to your Arwing caused you to crash. I was devastated and…"

She put her finger on his lips. "Shh, baby. I promise that one day I will sit down with you and explain _everything_ but right now… let's forget the past for a while and live in the now."

"I would like that," he replied in an almost reverent tone. "Krystal, I still love you. I've never stopped."

She murred at his sincerity. "I love you, too. I may have had misunderstood feelings in the past but nothing is more clear to me now than the fact that I love you, Fox McCloud." She pressed her lips to his then nearly swooned again, feeling him lift her up into his embrace. They kissed as only lovers could… then he laid her down onto the mattress, continuing the lip-lock.

She lifted her arms and legs, draping them around him. She sensed his ardent intentions and her heart began to race. "You'll never be alone again, my love," she promised him. "I know we've only just come back into one another's lives but I think we both have a new, more mature mentality now. We both want to settle down and have a family. We both want to be married. I think it's time to start fresh between us. Our love is pure and everything is right in the world again."

"I couldn't agree more," he said, trailing his kisses down her neckline.

"Say my name," she said with a soft churring at the back of her throat.

"I love you, _Krystal_." His tone and the way he said her name caused a shiver to run down her spine. She was ready to accept her old name again. She asked him to say it again… and again. She suddenly loved hearing it on his lips.

Her paws moved over every inch of him, as if exploring her lover again after so long. "God I adore you… I want you; I need you in my life… I want to be by your side forever."

He replied with similar promises of affection and love. They continued to kiss and touch and explore each other. He returned her sentiment of wanting to raise a family together. She'd never felt so much love from him before and she was intoxicated by it. Their moods turned amorous together.

Another grin found her maw. She reached for his right paw and guided it to the hem of her skirt in a playful way. For some reason it felt right to move back into this _comfortable_ romantic relationship so soon. His body language and thoughts were in agreement with such notions. She, in turn, reached for his clothes and began to tug at them. He lifted his head and they looked into one another's eyes. His gleamed with desire; hers shined with mirth and passion. The vixen pulled his head back to her neck and then she whispered her soft, warm voice into his ear. "Incidentally, Fox, what do you think of the name… Marcus?"

x-

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**A/N**: _WAM BAM THANK YOU, MA'AM! I've written off Kursed. HAPPY ENDING FOR HER! Now, after this chapter, we'll get back to our main characters and how we're going to save TEH UNIVERZxCORE. Ahem. I'd waited until receiving at least one lil' review for chapter 23 before posting this chapter because I wasn't sure if Kursed's death scene would even matter to anyone. At first, I didn't even get any responses so I thought… heck, no one must care enough about her to see if her sad fate turned into a happy ending. But the review I received was pleasing… it showed people actually gave a damn whether the antagonist lives or dies.  
__And so it has given me great pleasure to give Kursed a happy ending. I thought about keeping her around for a while longer but it was turning into HER story and this is supposed to be about Marcus and what the oracle has told him about his future. So let's get back to that, shall we? Is anyone happy with the way I ended Kursed's story arc?_


	25. Game Changer

A/N: _The __next __two __chapters __will __be __mostly __filler. __But __it __will __pave __the __way __for __things __to __get __rather __interesting. __Chapter __26 __is __already __finished, __I __just __need __to __re-read __it __before __I __post __it. __Enjoy __the __chapter. _

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Chapter -25-  
"Game Changer"

_A month later…_

**"Marcus?" ****The ****voice ****belonged ****to ****his ****mother**. She stepped into his quarters, sensing his permission to enter. "Look, I know what the oracle said to you. But remember... Kursed was proof that things can happen differently in different dimensions and I don't want you to feel like you have to go out of your way to respect the wishes of the fates in this one."

"I know I have options. I never doubted that. Heck, I could die tomorrow if I get careless. I know I have to keep my guard up and make smart decisions. Just because she said I was going to live to do all these crazy things doesn't mean I can slack off; I don't have a free pass. And I know I can change things. But I also have a duty to my friends, family and the only planet I've ever known as home."

"You know there's a chance she survived. They didn't find any residue DNA. The staff landed beneath the force field. When the field dropped, the ash remains would have layered the staff. Yet it was clean, save her paw prints."

His eyes shifted to the left. "Who's to say she didn't arrive on the other side in outer space? If the corebase wasn't in the same place in that dimension... she'd be screwed. Not to mention she'd be defenseless without her staff. And who knows if the planets are even at the same point in their orbital track if she wound up in another dimension? She could be fused inside of Solar's Core; my imagination is running wild."

"For all we know, sweetie, she wound up _on_ a corebase at the same place, at the same time, and there's another Krystal there with another staff. And whether or not she's gone... we need to learn from what happened and react to it properly. And we need to focus on the tasks at hand."

Marcus looked up at her. "Mom, it's been four weeks. Almost five, now. And guess what? We tried two more attacks and couldn't get it together. We couldn't finish the job. That freak has become too powerful and the lizards are behind her in the most fanatical way. I've never seen Venom airspace as particularly challenging before. I was an inexperienced moron last year and I managed to get into Shrey Lek. But now we can't even get within a hundred thousand kilometers of Area-6! Pretty soon, Crimson is going to have to return to the academy. Then I'll be down another pilot. Why are we out here hiding, anyhow?"

"To lick our wounds, of course." Krystal frowned, seeing his crestfallen expression. She cupped his muzzle in her palm and lifted his chin until their eyes met again. "Marcus, calm down. You're getting yourself upset and you need to focus on your training. I've been working with you non-stop for nearly four weeks and you know what I've noticed?"

"What?"

"In the last few days, you've been hiding something. Very well I might add. Do you wanna talk about what's bothering you?"

"I'm not bothered by something, mom," he said with a forlorn sigh. "It's not that I'm hiding something... I'm just really emotional about something and I'm not sure if it's an appropriate time or place to discuss it."

"Why don't you try?"

"Not yet," he said. "But I will. Soon. I promise."

Krystal released his maw then ran her paws back through her headfur. "Very well. I have good news that will cheer you up."

"Alright, go ahead."

A grin touched the vixen's muzzle. "I just got a communiqué from Fara before I came to your room. Now that Asper is planet-side, she's been given permission from General Grey, personally, which allows her to come back out here for an extended amount of time. I have no idea what she told him but she's surprisingly emotional and very difficult to read. Then again, she messaged me from across the sector. She should be coming through the jump gate any time. I know you've missed her the past three days."

"You have no idea." Marcus got up and kissed his mother's face then hurried out of his quarters, calling back to her, "See you on the carrier, later!" He hurried down the hallway to the flight deck of the dreadnought then opened the cargo bay doors and waited.

Twelve minutes later, Fara's Arwing came into view. He saw the twinkle in the distance and his heart began to race. His mother came out to the flight deck, boarded Kursed's old shuttle and departed for the Carrier, a mile off the port side. Moments later, the Arwing fighter moved into position for final approach. It gracefully swooped in at a shallow vector and landed on the flight deck, making the difficult angle look easy and natural.

Marcus pushed a wheeling ladder against the side of the fighter and hurried up to the cockpit. By the time he made it to the top, the canopy was starting to open with a hiss of pressurized air. Fara Phoenix looked up at him with a grin. "My, my... I've never received a greeting like THIS before!"

"Things are different now," he said. Marcus took her paw and helped her from the cockpit then moved back down to the deck with her. Once her feet were on the deck plates, he lowered to his knees and placed the side of his head against her belly. "Hey there," he whispered. "Welcome home." He stood back up and kissed her then drew her into his embrace. "Welcome home... _both_ of you."

Fara draped her arms over his shoulders and grinned. She lowered her muzzle and he did the same. They pressed their foreheads together just to be closer. "Have you done your homework?"

"Thinking of good names is hard," he replied.

"Did you get the list of Cerinian names from your mother?"

"I've not even told her yet. I don't know how she, let alone how _dad_ will react. I need more time. I'll tell them soon, I promise."

Phoenix returned his look with a dull gaze but kept her forehead against his. "They're going to find out sooner or later. She's telepathic, Marcus. If she doesn't read it from you, she'll read it from me. Or from Crimson. I'm surprised she hasn't found out about it already. And I'm surprised you've not told the rest of the team yet."

"I know, I know... I'm getting there I swear. Y'know, Falco is coming home soon. Two more days."

"Asper told me, actually. He's quite close to the Lombardi family now that he's helping to stepfather Jamie. Speaking of Jamie, I saw him. Violet was there when I brought him in to port. She was very grateful. She also gave me a jump drive full of photographs... new ones you've not seen yet. When did you want your next visitation?"

"Soon. I'll call her and arrange something. There's been no word about Anezka or Venom for five full days now. I'm nervous that this might be the 'calm before the storm' scenario. I'll feel better about having Falco back. So have you heard anything about Corneria's front?"

"They're holding their own right now. The front line is seeing a lot of action," Fara explained. "Katina and Fortuna are doing well. The supply lines haven't been broken and Fichina is doing well. Venom hasn't even so much as paid any attention towards Papetoon, Aquas or Zoness... so the baby is quite safe. Also, Violet wasn't nasty towards me this time. Maybe because I brought her man home safe and sound without any visible scratches. She actually thanked me with a hug; I was surprised."

Marcus offered a thin smile. "I'm glad she's coming around. She's warming up to everything. Does she know you're pregnant yet?"

The fennec snorted with a half-giggle. "Are you kidding? No way, not yet. I don't need to get glared at again."

"Fair enough." Marcus lifted her up and grinned. "Okay. Let's go do something together. I'm glad you're home. Did you tell the General that you're pregnant?"

"He gave me off until I'm 'ready' to come back." She grinned. "I don't know if you already knew or not but… Fay is expecting, too. She's quite a bit further along than myself, though. She's going into her second trimester. When I told Bill, she was actually present at the time."

Marcus grinned, holding the fennec in his arms. "What did she say?" He carried his girlfriend off the flight deck and into the hallway.

Fara rested her head against her mate's shoulder. "She was like, '_Oh __William, __we __absolutely __MUST __throw __Fara __a __baby __shower! __Blah-dee-blah __blah!_' You know how she talks. They're probably _still_ sitting in his office planning out their wedding." She kicked her legs gently, just to be playful as he carried her up the hall at a casual pace.

"And you saw the doctor to make sure?" His question received a nod in reply. Marcus grinned. "Did you get sonogram pictures?"

"Of _course_ I did, silly boy. They're in my purse with Violet's flashdrive. So, it's official. Our future child is the size of a grain of rice. Lylat watch out!"

Charmed, the vulpine pilot laughed at his girlfriend's joke. "I've got Theodore, Crimson and Vivian out on a patrol. Lucy is on our bridge, Amanda and Slippy are on the bridge of the Carrier with dad and mom. Mom actually just left here a few minutes ago. Let's see, uh, ROB is charging, Nibbles is sleeping… we've got the whole place to ourselves. We could go streaking through the halls if we wanted."

"You're in a mood, aren't you?" She reached up batted his nose with her paw. "How about we snuggle up and watch something on the subspace channels? How many stations do we get out here?"

"Seven to choose from," said Marcus. He arrived at the quarters they now shared. The door slid open and he turned sideways, stepping inside with Fara then he carried her to the bedroom. "I want to make you comfortable. We have a day off. Let's seize the day before something bad happens." He released her legs, easing the fennec to her feet.

"Don't jinx our good fortune," she replied and headed for the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom. Fara, having shared quarters with Marcus for four straight weeks now, waltzed into the bathroom without shame, dropped her pants and settled on the toilet with a sigh. "I was so keyed up about the doctor's appointment this morning that I didn't sleep much last night. I know it's the middle of the afternoon but I'm ready to settle in and get my PJ's on. Or, as you suggested, we can just go to bed with nothing on – I don't care. I just wanna relax."

Marcus chuckled, seeing how comfortable she was around him. Then again, she recognized the fact that he could sense her thoughts so she had no reason to act any certain way around him. Fara felt comfortable enough to be herself, even holding a conversation with him from the usually-private sanctity of the bathroom. His ear flickered at the accompanying sound then he drew the comforter back and fixed the fitted sheet so that it was wrinkle-free. "So… seven channels, sweetheart. Sports, News, Cornerian History, Interplanetary History, Afternoon Soaps, or two movie channels. I have no idea what cinemas they're airing right now, though."

"Anything but soaps and news. I've had enough news for now and I grew out of soaps when I was a teenager." Fara flushed the toilet then placed her paws under a lotion dispenser and emerged from the bathroom still rubbing her paws over one another. "The doctor recommends I gain ten pounds. I have a few samples of various pre-natal vitamins and I have to choose one soon and stick to it. He checked my blood sugar and pulled up my family medical files; he said I don't have any history of diabetes but that I should still be careful because pregnant women can sometimes have diabetic tendencies. Blah, blah, blah – I'm healthy. For the third trimester, I'll be doing ops on the bridge. So let's beat this crazy hybrid Krazoa chick before then… that way I don't have to worry about breaking the doctor's orders – you know I'll want to fly if we have missions."

"I'll see what we can do about that," he said with a grin. His eyes lowered, quick to notice that she'd emerged from the bathroom wearing only a shirt. The hem stopped at the top of her thighs and was hiked in the back, resting on the hilt of her tail. "Damn you're hot."

Fara's ears shifted back and she stuck her tongue out. She dropped onto the mattress and sprawled out then she rolled onto her side and pulled a pillow close to her face, hugging it in her arms.

A grin found his face as he watched her. "I love how I'm the only person that gets to see this side of you." He moved around to the other side of the bed, pulled the covers up over her then dropped trou, kicked off his pants and shoes, threw his shirt to the floor and climbed into bed with her. Marcus pulled the covers up over his side of the bed, grabbed the remote off of the nightstand and turned on the holo-vision. He scooted closer to her then drew her into his arms, pressing his chest against her back.

"I almost feel guilty. _Almost_, but not – here we are lying in bed, spooning… and there are soldiers and pilots out on the front lines, holding Venom's advances. Then again, we've been through enough to deserve a break. So… how was _your_ day?"

Marcus draped an arm over her side, propping his head up on three more pillows, so that he could somewhat pay attention to the holographic image across the room. "Well, I got both the weapon staffs back from Slippy's lab today. Finally. Mom and I had one of our telepathy lessons and my girlfriend came home. Today has been a pretty awesome day so far." He paused briefly then, sensing her question about Slippy's findings on Kursed's staff, he said, "Apparently the staff was bombarded with energy from the reverse-polarity Spellstones when the gravity bomb vaporized their containment casings. So whatever particles they emit when supercharged with radiation, tachyons and neutrinos… that is what somehow altered the weapon staff. The changes are quite permanent and now it's too powerful to be effective in close quarters combat."

"Too powerful for CQC?"

"Yeah, hon. If I used the quake attack on a corebase, surrounded by a few enemies… I'd probably cause the deck to collapse, which would endanger the user every bit as much as the enemies. It would cause instability and danger in any number of settings. You wouldn't want to use it anywhere near a mountain because it would cause a serious shifting in the terrain. You wouldn't want to use it underground unless you're inside of a Krazoa-built bunker… and even then it would be best to use it sparingly… you wouldn't want to use it if you're on soft ground because you would cause a sinkhole and fall into it. And… have mercy, the boost application used to propel the user up by about twenty feet. Slippy's test dummy went into the flight deck ceiling and was destroyed. Sixty feet high and it didn't even reach terminal velocity yet."

"Sounds like it's unnecessarily strong."

"Agreed," Marcus said. "I can just imagine if you used it to blast an enemy… but the discharge went clear through the enemy and hit an innocent in the distance. That would be bad. However, Slippy is working on a dampener setting. He's been testing it and said it just needs a little fine tuning… but the good news is, when you use the dampener, it offers similar output to its original specifications but it now uses the internal charge very sparingly. I hope he finishes it soon."

Fara grinned and turned her head, looking back over her shoulder at him. "So you can possibly use it with the old abilities but the battery will last twice as long, now?"

"Exactly. But the dampener mechanism needs its own power supply. So if the dampener's battery dies and the staff still has charge, it'll go back to being ridiculously powerful. If the dampener is damaged or fails for some reason… you might accidentally vaporize an enemy instead of just blasting them. He said he perfected the unit but it needs tweaking because it has failed several times during testing. It just… dies."

"Power drain or…?"

"Sometimes it's from the batteries dying. I told him to streamline it from the staff's power supply but he hasn't been able to modify the relays properly yet. After a few uses, the dampener becomes overloaded and it fails. Then it needs to have the capacitors replaced. So… it's still far from perfect. Theodore suggested we take the holographic cloak ability out of the staff. I won't be able to use it to look like an enemy anymore but Theodore says if we remove that upgrade, which Slippy invented anyhow, we'll have room for a dampener that is more… well, integrated into the staff. Y'know, instead of adding a little box on the outside of the staff and spot-welding it at the fulcrum or base. Mom's staff still has that old upgrade built in… Kursed's staff simply wouldn't have that ability. Not the end of the world."

Fara pushed her face back into the pillow, wiggling back against Marcus's warm body. "So it has to be interfaced directly with the staff at the cost of losing the upgrade already built in by Slippy from years ago?"

"You got it." He reached over her with the remote. "So, what do you want to watch?"

The fennec vixen found herself staring right through the history program currently being displayed. "Just leave it here for now. So, did you miss me?" She grinned inwardly. Fara Phoenix wasn't the clingy, needy type of woman but she liked when a man was sweet because it felt good on an emotional level.

"I _definitely_ missed you," he whispered into her ear. He couldn't see her smile but he sensed that it pleased her to hear his words and imagined her smile broadening. "I'll show you just how much I missed you after you take a nap or something."

"I look forward to it." Her eyes fluttered shut, just listening to the holo-vision and the sound of his breathing. Sensing her deep state of relaxation helped Marcus to unwind as well.

x-

* * *

_**Kursed **__**closed **__**her **__**paw **__around __Fox __McCloud__'__s __paw __then __pressed __her __lips __to __his. __The __liplock __lasted __for __about __fifteen __seconds __then __they __looked __back __at __their __gathered __friends __and __family. __She __moved __in __step __with __him __up __the __aisle, __careful __not __to __step __on __the __hem __of __her __wedding __gown. __Together __they __emerged __from __the __palace __front __entrance __and __they __stood __at __the __top __of __the __marble __steps._

_ Invited females gathered at the bottom of the stairs, throwing rice upwards while the men and married women flanked the couple at the top of the stairs, also dousing the pair with rice. She turned to Fox, trying to hold in a giggle. "I'll never understand this custom, love." _

_ McCloud shrugged with a grin. "Well, you know what custom comes next, don't you?" _

_ She nodded and turned around, facing the palace doors. Kursed took a deep breath and threw her bouquet of flowers over her head to the plethora of young female paws, vying for a chance to catch the bouquet. Her ears flickered, hearing a familiar voice. "I GOT IT!" _

_ The victorious cry was followed by several other layers of speaking. One person said, "No fair!" and another simply whined. Kursed turned about and smirked, seeing Katt Monroe standing at the center of the group with the flowers in her paws. She cut her gaze over at Fox McCloud's two best men, watching the taller of the two males cover his face with a groan. _

_ An aged rabbit flanked Kursed on the left and hugged her. She turned to Peppy Hare and wrapped her arms around him. "Hey, old man. You look good in a tux." _

_ "Oh it's been quite a few years since I've had to wear one," he replied. "I may retire from being a General soon, though. Vivian and I want to settle in and relax." _

_ Kursed tilted her head. "Speaking of Vivian, where is she?" _

_ "She's going to meet us at the reception hall to make sure everything is ready. She just left a few seconds ago. Why d'ya ask?" _

_ Kursed __leaned __in __close __and __whispered __into __his __ear. __"__Where __I __came __from, __she __passed __away __from __illness. __I__'__m __just __glad __she__'__s __still __alive __in __this __universe. __It __seems __like __everyone __was __happy __here, _except _Fox. __Now __everything __is __right __as __rain.__" _

_ Peppy leaned in close and said, "She's been struggling as of late. She didn't want anyone to know so… you're the only one. But she's not well. Today is one of her good days. Treatments are… oh, heck, I'm not going to bother you with this on your wedding day. Enjoy yourself, Krystal. Vivian, I'm sure, will have a few years left. Oh! Here comes your limo." _

_ Krystal __glanced __up __seeing __the __stretch __hover-car __coming on__to __the __dirt __road __in __front __of __the __palace._

Marcus opened his eyes and blinked. He glanced around; the room was dimly illuminated by the holo-vision. He turned it off with the remote control then placed it on the nightstand and sighed in thought. He felt Fara's body against his and took comfort in his girlfriend's proximity. He wondered about the dream… was it more than just a dream? He'd had dreams in the past about Kursed. But was he able to telepathically link to her in another dimension? Or was it all just wishful thinking?

For some reason, the dream put his heart at peace. Marcus smiled inwardly. Not only was it nice to see Kursed getting married… and acknowledging her name as Krystal… Peppy was in the dream and he'd not seen Peppy in ages. The thing was, everyone in the dream looked younger. His father, Katt and Falco… Peppy. If Kursed really did survive the trip, he wondered, then did she also wind up in a different frame of time? And what happened to Krystal from _that_ universe? Did she exist? Did Cerinia never blow up, thus causing her never to leave her homeworld? He was curious but unable to find out any answers.

The strangest thing of that dream, at least to him, was the fact that Kursed spoke to Peppy quite openly about how she'd come from a different universe. Marcus lay there in bed just pondering the validity of his dream. He'd had realistic dreams before. He knew it was one of his unique gifts. It'd been a while since his last one but… it had been a _long_ time since he'd experienced such a happy one.

Marcus whispered into Fara's ear, "I love you," then rolled flat onto his back, after having slept on his side for the last few hours. The fox smiled, hearing a mumble of reply. He sensed that she was saying it back but was too comfortable and relaxed to speak clearly. As long as he'd known Fara, she was usually sharp and clear minded even if waking up from a dead sleep. But now she was letting her guard down because she felt comfortable and even protected when in his arms. He liked that she felt safe enough to relax in such a way in his presence. It was refreshing.

Marcus closed his eyes and waited for sleep again.

x-

* * *

**Marcus****' ****eyes ****fluttered ****open.** He took a deep breath then stretched. He felt Fara still against him and assumed that he may have only drifted into a light doze. The fox brought a paw to his face, rubbing at his eyes, and then he eased up onto an elbow to peer at a digital clock display across the room. He blinked in surprise. "It's ten in the morning…?"

Fara stirred, rolling back towards him. "It is? Nah, I'm sure it's ten at night – we took a nap around four or five in the afternoon, baby."

He shook his head. "No, I keep the clock set for military time. It says _ten_, so it's morning."

She sat up and rubbed at her face. Then she tilted her head. "Hmm… I'm starving – you might be right. Doesn't Falco come home today?"

Marcus swung his legs out of bed and put his feet on the floor. "If it's really ten in the morning, then he should have arrived about thirty minutes ago. Hold on…" The fox closed his eyes again and cleared his mind. After a moment, a wry grin tugged at his maw. "He's here. He's aboard – I can sense him. I also sense Red is awake. Vivian and Theodore are sleeping. I think everyone else is aboard the other ship. I'd better go be a good team leader and welcome him back."

The fennec stretched with a feminine squeak then she rubbed at her face with her palms. "I should probably go and get in the shower. I think we definitely overslept because I feel groggy."

"Letting down your guard, girl?" He grinned and leaned down to kiss her. They both ignored each other's morning breath for the chance to partake in such a splendid kiss. After a moment he eased off the bed and hunted down a pair of sweatpants then stopped in the doorway and told her, "I love you, y'know." He pulled the bedroom door shut behind himself, crossed the living room then, when he was out in the hallway, Marcus suddenly sprinted up the aisle.

He turned right then left, followed the hall down a ways then skidded to a halt at the entrance of the galley. Falco and Crimson looked up. Lombardi smirked. "Well, well, well! If it isn't The Fearless Leader _junior_. You just wake up? You got serious bed-head goin' on, kiddo."

"Did you bring it?" asked Marcus in an excited tone. "Where is it?"

"Oh _jeeze_, not even a 'hi' or a simple, 'how was your flight?' All you care about is if I brought it?"

"C'mon, I've been waiting, Falco. Did you bring it?"

Lombardi smirked. "Can't you sense if I brought it?"

"You're filling your head with sports statistics; you're trying to mess with me. So obviously you brought it."

The avian stuffed his hand into his pocket then withdrew a small box and tossed it to young McCloud. "Here, kid. We both already know she'll say 'yes', so just calm down. What's this all about anyhow?"

Marcus glanced at Crimson, glad his friend resisted the temptation to tell. The fox cut his eyes back to Falco and said, "Fara is pregnant. And it's about time I pop the question. I'm serious about this and I couldn't get away to the store to buy the ring. I had to surprise her; that's why I contacted you last night and asked you to pick up the order I placed at Parsimons and bring it to me. She won't suspect a thing."

Crimson leaned back in the galley chair. "What kind of ring do you get for the rich girl who _has __it __all_ already?"

Marcus stuck his tongue out. "I had something specially made. There's nothing like it in all of Lylat. Now, Falco, I told Crimson because he's my best friend. I'm telling you, but I haven't told my parents yet. So… keep it quiet, okay? I'm going to tell them _after_ I propose to Fara."

Lombardi nodded casually, taking everything in stride. "You're not gunna' do it in front of the media like your father, are you?" (_Reflections __of __The __Future, __end __chapter_)

The fox shook his head. "No, she's a little more on the private side of the fence. So, for Fara's sake, I'm going to do it when no one else is around. I don't know how my father will react so… I'm not going to tell him until I've already popped the question, you know?"

Falco stood up with a stretch. "You want me to tell him? I know yer' old man pretty good – I can break it to him in a way that won't cause any drama."

"I know how well you know him but… nah, I'll man up and tell him myself," said Marcus. "Just… whatever you were going to tell him… save it just in case you gotta talk to him afterwards. Y'know… damage control. That sort'a thing. But he's been more accepting as of late… so maybe, you know, he'll be cool about this."

"Yeah, sure kiddo. I'm sure your old man will be fine. Don't worry about a thing. Are you going to do the deed now or after breakfast? I'm frickin' hungry."

Marcus grinned. "I need to think of a way to be clever about this. So… I'll do it later this afternoon when we have some alone time. I'm trying to think of a good way to do it. Like, hiding the ring at the bottom of a wine glass and letting her find it. That sort of thing."

"OH geeze," Falco replied in a stern tone. "It doesn't take a _mind __reader_ to know you BOTH love each other and all that jazz. Just grab her left paw, stick it on her finger and say, '_I__'__m __going __to __marry __you, __girl. __We__'__ll __work __out __the __details __later __but __I __just __wanted __you __to __know __I __plan __on __marrying __you __because __I __love __ya__'__. __A__lot._" Then you let her fawn over the ring."

Red shifted his weight in his chair. "Mac, what's so special about this ring anyhow?"

McCloud grinned deviously. "It's platinum with a unique mount and I had them make the ring from a diamond that came from inherited Cerinian jewelry. That way she always has a part of my world with her. You know what I mean?"

"Sappy!" Falco crowed. "GOD that's sappy!"

A smirk tugged at the young wing commander's muzzle. "I really appreciate you picking it up for me so I could pull off this surprise… but," he paused, grinned, then said, "You can still blow me, birdbrain."

Falco shrugged off the faux putdown and grinned. "Why does everyone always use 'bird brain' like it's some sort of ultimate cut down? Bill Nerd the Science Bird, he was a smart guy. I'm just sayin'… Your jibes suck."

"So wait," Crimson cut back in. "Since Fara is technically older than all of us here, does that sorta' make her a _cougar_?"

Falco snorted, trying not to laugh. "Okay, that was pretty good. But she's no Katt Monroe. That chick was the ultimate Cougar back in the day. She flirted with anyone my age or younger. '_Hey__tiger_' this, and '_you__'__re__beautiful!__I__could__kiss__you_!' that… it was annoying but she did it to try and ruffle my feathers." He buffed his nails on his shirt. "But we all know who she married."

"If it makes you feel any better," said Marcus, "The last time I saw her, she leered at me for getting Violet into this whole motherhood situation. Not that I _knew_ but… I'm pretty sure she hates me."

Falco waved his feathery fingers outwards. "Bah. You don't know what you're talking about. She's _so_ over that. I think she was impressed that you ran into a nuclear wasteland to try and find her and the baby. Sure, she had enough common sense to go away from the city but… the fact that you were reported heading for ground zero to try and find those two… well, she really thought that was pretty manly of you. Stupid as hell but… manly."

Marcus tilted his head. "I… really? I had no idea."

"She's cool. Violet and I had a long talk a while back. She was a little angry about the whole… situation where you were suckin' face with Fara Phoenix. And of course she complained to Katt and that was a big deal but… y'know how women are. And now she's happy with Asper and everything is real cool. Speaking of Asper, he's up for a rank promotion thanks to this crew. More money; Violet is happy about that. Everything is cool back home." Falco turned to Crimson and shrugged. "Shit, I must be tired – I'm yammering on-and-on. C'mon, let's go get some food."

"Don't have to tell _me_ twice!" Red and Falco turned about and headed towards the galley together.

Marcus opened the little box and inspected the ring within. His heart pounded furiously. He took two deep breaths then closed his fist around the ring box and walked back to his quarters. The door swished open and he glanced about then sniffed at the room. He sensed Fara was near.

In the bedroom, Marcus found a suitable hiding spot and placed the box beneath all his socks in the dresser drawer. He closed the drawer then headed towards the bathroom. Fara Phoenix stood in front of the sink and mirror clad only in panties and a bra. She turned about to face him, brushing her teeth. The bathroom lighting caused her brilliant green eyes to glow. She slid the toothbrush back along her left molars, winked at him then turned back to the mirror.

His eyes dropped to her tail, gazing upon her figure absentmindedly. Fara leaned over the sink, using a paw to lift her hair out of the way. When she bent over, her tail lifted straight up. The fennec vixen swished with water then spit it out and lifted her head, peering at him in the mirror. "See something you like?"

The fox blinked and looked up. "I … yeah. I do. You. What can I say? I like what I see."

She flitted her tail from left to right then pushed the toothbrush back into her maw. "Mmhmm."

He took a deep breath to get his confidence up then walked into the bathroom, still only wearing the sweatpants and pressed himself against her backside, resting his chin on her shoulder. In a soft, smooth voice, he said, "I love you… I want you."

The fur on the back of her neck stood up. She doubled over again to place her lips against the faucet and swished with water. When she did, she pressed her backside against his hips. In reply, Marcus slid his paws over her waistline and pulled her body back against his firmly. "I am _so_ undeniably attracted to you."

She placed the toothbrush on the side of the sink then turned around and put her arms over his shoulders. "Then why don't you do something about it before we go to breakfast?"

With a grin, Marcus eased her up onto the edge of the sink. She lifted her legs and eased them around his hips. The fox brushed his lips against Fara's lips then whispered, "With pleasure."

x-

* * *

**Falco ****Lombardi ****reached ****for** the call button adjacent to Marcus' door. A paw caught his wrist from behind. He turned about, coming face to face with the kid's mother. "Oh, hey, Krystal. I didn't know you were over on this ship. What's up?"

"Now's not a good time to talk to him."

"I was just wondering why he didn't make it to breakfast."

Krystal offered a lopsided grin. "He's busy with Fara. They're…" She paused to listen to his thoughts then her eyes widened. "He's going to propose to her today?"

Lombardi held his paws up defensively. "No, I wasn't supposed to say anything. That's not fair."

Krystal tugged on Falco's wrist and guided him further down the hall. She walked with excitement in her step. Her tail fluffed up and she giggled softly. "Oh my goodness, he got her a ring? That's _so__cute_! I'll keep the secret. I don't know how Fox will react just yet. But he's been really good about this as of late. But I can assure you that what they're in there doing right now has nothing to do with a ring. At least not yet. Hmm… I can't wait to see it, though. They make the sweetest couple."

"Yeah. So, not to change the subject or anything but when do we fly against that crazy chick out over Venom? I'm ready to kick some tail."

"Slow down, goodness. The good news is that you'll have your chance to fly today. The bad news is that we've picked up converging enemy patrols on long range scanners. They're headed this way but they're still moving at a patrol speed and they're still in a typical patrol formation so we don't think they've spotted us just yet."

"Why don't we head out to the Sector-Z nebula and hide out just outside of the Area-6 defense perimeter?"

Krystal continued to walk with Falco down the hall. "I'll suggest it to the boys," she said in reference to Fox and Marcus, "and then we'll see what they think. We think we have less than two hours before the fighter patrol is within range to detect us on _their_ sensors. They might be running an escort because ROB seems to think there's a cargo vessel with them. Perhaps we can use those supplies for ourselves."

"I'm all about taking gear from the bad guys." Falco stuffed his hands into his pockets. "You wanna put a friendly wager on who gets more kills? Team Marcus or Team Fox?"

"Well it wouldn't be fair," said Krystal. "Fox, Slippy, Amanda, myself and Lucy against Vivian, Theodore, Marcus, Crimson and you? Slippy, Amanda and Lucy aren't as cocky and aggressive as their children in the cockpit. Plus Wolf O'Donnell's son is skilled, you're an ace fighter and Marcus is telepathic and far more aggressive in battle than myself. Fox would be picking up all the slack."

Falco rubbed the underside of his beak. "Hmm, you might be right. How about you, me and Fox… against Marcus, Crimson, Ted and Vivian? Slippy, Amanda and Lucy can fly the base ships and man the turrets, just in case the fighters get close."

"Three against four?" she asked, furrowing a single brow.

"Fine, fine… Slippy can fly, too. He's got plasma cannons on his ship."

Krystal smirked. "We'd better ask Slippy if he wants to fly and we should ask Marcus if he's up for a game of 'Pros vs. Greenhorns.' After all, they might want to…"

"I have a better idea," Vivian interrupted from behind. Falco and Krystal turned around, coming face to face with a tired looking rabbit in pajamas. She had a coffee mug in her left paw with steam rising above it. "Fara, Marcus and Crimson against Fox and you two."

Falco tilted his head. "But wouldn't you and Teddy wanna' fly? You guys are great pilots."

"Yeah, we are, but we had a late patrol last night and we won't be awake enough to fight our best. Besides, Marcus has us scheduled to run the ship. It's on the schedule."

"Wait, there's a schedule?"

Krystal looked to Falco then shook her head. "I guess you have been away for a while, haven't you? Indeed, everyone on the team voted unanimously to schedule patrols and actually run shifts and such. They sit down together once a week to figure out who wants to work on what days and at what times. You'd like it."

"Okay fine, fine… those three against me, Krystal and Fox. The old pros would level those guys – I won't lie, they'll put up a fight but… C'mon… Me and Fox with the team telepath? We wiped out all the Imperials in Lylat not once, not twice… but _four_ times. We're the baddest of the bad. We're celebrities for a reason. It's the reason I still fly for Marcus' team…" He turned and grinned at Vivian. "So you kids benefit from the experience of a celebrity ace combat fighter. I mean… no offense guys but… let's look at old StarFox for a minute. We had a military tactician who was so good that he was recalled by the reserves and became a _General_. We had one of the best R&D weapons techs around, we had a telepathic chick who grew a bigger set of balls than half the pilots flying for Corneria… then of course… me and Fox. We're the frickin' dream team, kids."

Vivian lifted her free paw and rubbed at her temples then took a sip of her coffee. "Why is it so macho to 'grow a set of balls' anyhow?" Vivian took another sip of her coffee then walked between Falco and Krystal. "I've got fifty credits on Marcus, Fara and Crimson. If you wanna go higher, speak up before you suit up." She walked into the hydroponics bay and disappeared.

Falco blinked twice then turned to Krystal and scratched the top of his head. "Well damn." He glanced back at the set of doors Vivian disappeared into and asked, "What's in that room, anyhow?"

"They converted it into a place to grow fruits and veggies. Vivian's pet project. I sense she went in there to get some fresh strawberries. So, fifty credits? We're all well off, here. Why not up the ante?"

Lombardi cracked his knuckles. "Now you're talkin' my language, sister."

She nudged him in the side with her elbow. "Stop that, you'll give yourself arthritis."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. We're gunna school these kids and show'em how it's done. C'mon, let's get over to the carrier and get Fox in on this bet. Then we can get prepped."

Krystal waved her paw. "Come on, we'll take my shuttle back to the carrier."

x-

* * *

**Fara ****stepped ****out ****of ****her ****room ****with** Marcus behind her. She stopped, coming face to face with Crimson. She tilted her head and the two foxes fell into step besides the hybrid wolf. "What's going on?" she asked.

Crimson stuffed his paws into his pockets. "I'm sure Marcus will telepathically find out soon anyhow… so I'll just tell you now. We have inbound bandits – a large patrol and they're protecting a small cargo transport vessel. Falco and Mrs. McCloud want to pair up with Mr. McCloud and fly as a team against the three of _us_, and whoever gets the most bogies wins… whatever is determined to go into the winner's pot. So… the three of us have to whip their elderly asses and show'em how it's done. I don't care about the money – I just want the bragging rights."

Marcus glanced at his friend. "_YOU_ don't care about the money? That's a first."

"We're practically rich, now. I'm not a broke-ass anymore. Remember? We saved the day and got paid out the wazoo last year? Then we were all over the media. I know we're not as rich as Fara, here, but c'mon… Whatever we win will be awesome to have but… I really just want to be able to say we were able to beat the original Team StarFox."

"Then let's go grab something to eat so we can be at our best," said Fara.

x-

* * *

**"****You ****really ****want ****to ****have ****a **showdown with our kid's team?" Fox shook his head with a grin. "I've not had the chance to see Crimson O'Donnell fly lately. This should be interesting."

"I didn't say this around them," Falco folded his arms and leaned back against the bulkhead. "But your kid is pretty frickin' good, Fox. We both know Fara is a damn good pilot. She doesn't rush head-long into Ion cannons anymore. And Red has a talent for killing enemies – his biggest weakness is watching out for himself. He's a better offensive player than a defensive one."

Fox brought a paw to his jaw, rubbing the bottom of his muzzle in thought. "Krystal, you're really onboard for this whole thing?"

She smiled to her husband. "I'm the one who suggested we up the stakes. We've all but relinquished the dreadnaught to Star since he took ownership while we were outside of this system. Legally, I might add. But I'm sure we can offer something more. He won't need the carrier and it's become our home… but perhaps we can offer him something else… why not wager three Landmaster tanks as our wager?"

McCloud's eyes widened. "_Three__TANKS_? Are you serious?"

Krystal rolled her eyes. "When was the last time you drove one?"

The wing commander gave pause in consideration of her words. Fox brought his left paw behind his head and scratched gently at the nape of his neck. "Well, uh… Slippy occasionally likes to…"

Falco cut in. "There are _five_ on this ship. That leaves him two."

Fox glared at Falco. "Shut up. You're on Star's team. If they win, you don't lose three tanks. I do."

The avian lifted his winged hands defensively. "Fine, whatever. And…" he tilted his head. "What's up with you two calling him Star? He changed his name forever ago."

Krystal grinned. "When he's not around, we still refer to him that way. Remember, we've known him by that name for two decades. You keep that to yourself."

"Yeah, yeah. So what's up, Fox? Your bride wants to up the stakes with three tanks. Shouldn't we call Markey-Mark and ask him what he wants to bid that's comparable?"

"Fine. Watch this." Fox crossed the bridge and opened a channel to the other GreatFox. After a moment, Marcus and Vivian Hare showed up on the main view screen. Fox folded his arms across his chest. "Hey, kiddo. You know you still have my father's sunshades? I'll need those back for this mission. You've got to earn those the old fashion way – by saving all of Lylat. Now… let's talk about this little wager that Falco and your mother have gotten me into, shall we?"

Marcus grinned at his father then reached a paw below the camera. A moment later, he lifted his paw back into view and placed a pair of dark sunshades on his snout then pushed them up over his eyes. "Let's hear your proposal. I'll be humble about this because I'm not going to brag about how good we are to a trio of system-wide celebrities, famous for saving the galaxy ump-teen billion times. But I'm confident in my wingmates, too… so, what's your wager? How about five hundred credits for each of us?"

Fox deadpanned then glanced back at his wife and long-term fast friend. In a quiet voice, he said, "See? Star and I have similar ideas about what's acceptable and unacceptable, here." He received odd looks from both Krystal and Falco. Fox grumbled, "What's gotten into you two, anyhow?" He turned back to the monitor and announced, "If you beat us, we'll give you _three_ Landmaster Tanks. And I'll let you keep those sunshades, kiddo. Match that."

He saw his son's brows lift over the rims of James McCloud's sun glasses. Vivian lifted her paws as if in defeat and backed away from the camera. In her place, Fara Phoenix approached the monitor adjacent to her boyfriend and smirked. "Wow, Fox. That's pretty impressive. I've never seen you like this; you've always been conservative with your toys – not one to give your stuff away like this. I'm honestly impressed. One sec." The monitor changed to a StarFox logo.

Fox turned back to Falco and Krystal. Lucy looked up from across the bridge and said, "I think you surprised them. Now they have to think of something good or if they're going to concede before even putting up a fight."

Krystal shook her head. "My son won't back down from a good challenge."

"I hope he comes up with something more interesting than…" Falco found himself interrupted by the channel opening again. He glanced back at the screen. "Hey, Marcus. We were just talking about you behind your back. You come up with something comparable already?"

Marcus drew in a long, slow breath. "We can go about this two ways. I can match your tanks with two Arwings. However, you have more than we do already. You have more of everything than we do. And that's fine. So, if you're willing to hear me out… I have a much bigger gamble to offer. It's a little extreme but it could be fun, so long as nobody gets themselves killed."

Fox glanced at Krystal and Falco then he unfolded his arms and sat down on his favorite chair at the center of the bridge. His son, much to his partial amusement, did the same and sat down on the chair at the center of the cruiser's bridge. "Alright, young man …let's hear your grand notion."

"Okay, here's the rules of the game, dad. Let's make this a _real_ competition. For the sake of fun, of course. First rule: The game ends if someone is killed or injured beyond help. Everything stops immediately. What I propose is that we resume our generational teams. Whoever defeats this Anezka chick first… whoever defeats Venom first… is the clear winner. If you win, you'll get our ship back. We'll become your junior officers and have learned our lesson. If _we_ win, we get _your_ ship and you guys retire to that cabin by the sea that mom has always had her eyes on, overlooking the channel leading into Cape Claw. Of course, you'll have to build it first but… you get the idea. Now, here's the other ground rules… we'll do this like a game show. You have three lifelines. You can call for help from the other team, Corneria Air Defense or another Mercenary team up to three times total. If you need help a fourth time, you automatically lose. It's like… forfeiting. So Falco will stay over there. Your team against our team. Here's another rule: You can hire additional pilots but you have to tell the other team who is joining. So, for example, if we wanted to bring in Asper Sarnoff and you wanted to bring in Miyu Lynx, then we'd have to open a channel to you and tell you about Asper, and you would have to inform us about Miyu. It's only fair to know against whom we're competing. Log all your kills and all your accomplishments – if neither team is any closer to defeating Venom or that crazy Krazoa chick in, say, ninety days then we'll compare our victories to determine the winner. In which case, we'll join forces to beat'em, and then go about deciding a winner at that time. Deal?"

Fox rubbed his chin, waiting until his son finished. A sly grin formed at the corner of his muzzle. "Falco makes out no matter what. If you win, he's back on your team. If I win, he'll just keep flying for me. Much to his wife's displeasure, he once said he'll fly 'till the day he dies… and I'm pretty sure he meant it exactly that way. But I have to admit, bud… you came up with one doozy of a competition. I thought this was about the incoming patrol; you're making this little wager into an all-out 'winner take all' competition. That's pretty gutsy."

Lombardi shook his head and approached Fox. "No, I'll play this game. If they beat us, I'll retire and go home to my wife as a full-time husband. I know how you guys fight and fly. You're good… but we're the best. Still. That hasn't changed and it won't for at least another ten years or so. I'm in all the way."

Fox glanced back at Falco, again impressed… not only by his son but by Falco's sportsmanship. "Okay… hold tight." He closed the channel and turned around to Lucy, Krystal and Falco. "Krystal, hon, I know you want to retire. So does this seem fair? When we beat their tails, it's like saying you promise you won't retire."

She smirked at her husband and shook her head. "Fox, love, we used to consider that… but I've gone through so much lately and I've lost my memories and had so much happen… I've changed, sweet. I've come to really enjoy this lifestyle and I enjoy US… _team__McCloud_. It's become apart of me after all these years. If we win, we'll have our son fight for us, on _our_ team. We'll be a fighting family. I'm not opposed to that. And if they honestly best us… then we all go home and have fun. But we'll still help them one last time to make sure Venom is truly beat."

Fox sighed and turned back to the view screen, opening the channel again. "Okay, kiddo. But if we win, you'll not wear those sunshades again until the day I will them to you." Fox grinned at his son then said, "We agree to your rules. Three lifelines. We have to let you know if someone joins our team. We have to log our kills just incase there is a stalemate and if someone is injured or killed… the game ends and we join the ships into the Fighting Fortress and work together."

"Sounds good. Mom, dad, I love you guys so… please, be safe. Falco, if you want to join the team again later…" He paused then smiled in a devious way. "You can _try__out_ for us. But you gotta retire for at least ninety days _if_ we beat you and I know that will be a huge punishment. Besides, by then, Red will be back at the Academy so we'd need an ace pilot anyhow. I mean, Dad had Peppy. You'd be our vet. But let's get down to brass tacks. I'm ready to show you guys that we're serious and we're competent."

"I'm ready to be humbled, Marcus," said the young man's father. "I suggest you stock up on gear before… well, you know what to do. Stay safe, okay? All of you. I don't want to hear of anyone getting killed over there. I mean it. I'll see you guys soon."

"Love you, mom."

Krystal approached the screen and smiled to her son. "I love you, sweetheart. I'll see you soon."

Fox closed the channel and said, "Everyone, let's get ourselves ready. After this attack run, we'll start doing an inventory then start making plans on how to assess Venom's tactical situation. Let's get it done… Team StarFox, move out!"

x-


	26. Complications

Chapter -26-  
"Complications"

**Fara ****Phoenix ****rubbed ****her ****chin**, listening to Marcus. The fennec vixen cut her gaze to Vivian Hare then to Theodore Toad, finally looking over at Crimson O'Donnell. A grin tugged at the corner of her muzzle seeing that all three pilots were listening to every word spoken by their team leader. No wise cracks, smirks, jokes or anything else. It was a mature team compared to Fox, Falco and Slippy back when they were young. Her sea-green gaze returned to Marcus and she grinned at him.

Marcus sensed his mate's pride and finished the speech with a relaxed swagger. "…I just wanted you guys to know how proud I am of this team. We get the job done, we work our tails off and we do it with old equipment ten times better than other teams do it with brand new equipment. Now that this dreadnaught has been refitted, it's a brand new ship with the same old controls and layout. We've come a long-damn-way over the past year. I know we haven't had a lot of practice with Red, here, but trust me guys… we're going to nail this competition. We're going to smoke those guys. I'm not saying they're old or out-to-pasture. I'm saying that they raised and trained us, so we grew up being the children of the best. They raised the bar for us, and we're going to raise it for our children. Let's get out there and fight our tails off."

Vivian stuffed her paws into the pockets of her overalls. "We should set up shifts for who flies our ship. Now that ROB 64 is on the carrier, we'll be flying teams of four with one of us at the helm."

"Seems unfair," said Theodore with a chuckle. "They have Falco, Fox, Slippy, Amanda and Lucy. It's five on five. They even built a piloting robot when they were on the other side of that vortex thing, least year. Don't you think _we_ should have been able to keep ROB?"

"We'll worry about that later," said Marcus with a nod. "Their old temp-bot was stripped down for ROB. But the brain is here on this ship in storage. If you want, Ted, you can bring it out of storage and plug it directly into the console on the bridge. He won't be anything more than a helmsman since he won't have a body but… I think we'll be able to make due."

Crimson grinned. "If we beat'em with a handicap, it means more bragging on our part."

"Have you thought about asking your sister to fly with us, Red?" asked Marcus.

Crimson face-faulted. "I… suppose I could ask her. But six pilots is a lot to keep track of."

Marcus shook his head. "Let's say we have one pilot on the bridge, Fara is doing a ground-based mission, and one of us is in a Landmaster… Then we'd have another pilot in the sky. Plus, haven't you guys patched things up?"

"Sorta', yeah. But she has her pride. We're talking about both the O'Donnell twins flying for Fox McCloud's son. My father would be a total asshole about it. After all, she's _daddy__'__s __girl_, y'know?"

"Yeah, well, if things get rough, we might be calling your father to help us," said McCloud. "And he'd do anything to help someone show up my father. I have no doubts about that."

The wolf grinned brightly. "Hell, when you put it that way… you're absolutely right."

The Cerinian fox turned to Vivian. "How much further to the patrol?"

With a relaxed stride, Vivian walked over to the controls and punched several keys in on the control panel. A map of the sector displayed itself on the main view screen. Everyone turned to face it then she said, "The patrol is fifteen minutes away. Since the GreatFox carrier outruns us in pure speed, they're about to engage the patrol. In ten minutes that battle might be over."

Crimson tightened his jaw. Theodore shook his head with a frown and said, "Well damn, we've already lost our first…"

Marcus cut off the frog with a clear, authoritative voice. "No. We've not lost _anything_. I'm _counting __on_ our folks to run straight to that patrol and engage'em. Let'em scrap. We now have a chance to leave this sector and change up the game plan. Do you guys remember Jane Flowers? (_Reflections __of __a __New __Generation_) There was a solid concentration of Venom hostiles on Eledard. We know for a fact that that planet still has a reptilian base on location. Just one. They have approximately fifteen hundred people with about four hundred ships. They have parts, weapons, and supplies of all kinds. Eledard is neutral but nobody wants to deal with that menace. A swift, unannounced assault would catch them off guard, especially since a lot of those ships and pilots have been recalled to the Venom defense perimeter. They're busy with this whole new change of leadership… for the third time in a year. Everything is out of sorts for them… it's the best chance we'll have of over-running them and assuming their supplies."

Fara smiled brightly. "Nice…! Now you're thinking like a strategist, Marcus. I'm impressed."

He grinned at her compliment. "We'll need to put a team on the ground to finish the job once we've softened them up."

"That's where _I_ can help!" The voice caused all five pilots to turn towards the main entrance to the bridge. Tricky stood in the doorway, adding, "And where is the grub around here? I'm _hungry_."

"Aw damn." Crimson brought his right palm to his forehead. "I forgot he was aboard."

Fara approached Tricky and said, "You have your work cut out for you. Are you sure you want to fight with us? Wouldn't you rather work with Fox? You guys are already familiar with one another."

Tricky pranced onto the bridge and shook his head. "No way! Fox treats me like a kid! Fara, don't you remember when we took Jane to Eledard? We were a _great_ team! And Star, don't you remember when we first met on my world last year? We kicked some butt! Then you took me to Venom and stuff! Then on that other planet, where we…!"

"Okay, okay," said McCloud.

Fara ran her paw back through her now-shoulder-length headfur. "Tricky, now that we're not going to be flying in the next few minutes, I think you and I should head down to the flight deck where we have a lot of room… and we should start training. I'll teach you offensive and defensive strategy and commands so that we can work together more effectively."

"Yeah, sure, okay! But how about we get a snack first?"

Marcus turned to his girlfriend and kissed the side of her face. "Okay, I appreciate you taking him under your wing." He glanced over at Theodore and Vivian. "Could you guys maybe build some sort of hitch onto the Landmaster and maybe construct a trailer so we could pull Tricky around when heading out to a ground mission…?"

"No problem," said Vivian, swatting Theodore on the back. "Teddy and I could have that whipped up in a day or two." She placed her other paw on her chest pocket, petting the cloth where Nibbles was hiding. "When do you want to attack Eledard?"

Marcus rubbed his chin and turned to Fara. They exchanged glances then he announced, "How about we plan it out then make a decision about 'when' by this time tomorrow."

Theodore glanced at the rabbit then shook his head. "C'mon, girl. Let's git started. We gotta lot of work and planning to do."

"To the drawing board!" Vivian gave him a playful shove and they walked off the bridge together.

Red rubbed his chin. "Boy, those two are _way_ more chummy than I remember."

"Yeah, that they are," Marcus replied. "Fara, see that Tricky is fed and trained. I'll start looking up information on this base on Eledard with Red; I'll use my connections with General Grey to try and get some satellite intel."

Fara gave a firm tug at her shirt to free it of wrinkles then nodded to Tricky. "C'mon, you. We have a lot of work to do. This'a way." She motioned for him to turn around and head back in the direction from which he came.

Marcus and Crimson settled down at the helm and ops station, respectively. Marcus laid in a course to head away from the Venom escort and simultaneously opened a subspace message to Corneria. He placed the call on the main screen. A secretary's friendly face appeared on the monitor. McCloud offered her a polite smile. "Ma'am, I have an important message for General William Grey; is he available?"

"I'm afraid he's in an important meeting at the moment. I've been asked to hold his calls. Would you like for me to forward a message to his inbox, Mister…?"

"McCloud. You're new… It's okay, though. Tell him Marcus McCloud called; I'll try him at his personal communicator." Marcus closed the channel before she could reply and put a message through to Bill's personal comm. unit. When Bill answered, Marcus greeted him with a broad faux smile. "General! How's it going? Hey, I cleaned my den today. Scout's honor!"

Bill grimaced. "Real funny. I'm sort of tied up at the moment. We're still friends and ex-roommates but I have a job and I need you to start calling in through proper channels, Marcus."

"Alright, duly noted for future reference. I've got Crimson here with me; so far as the rest of the gang, though, my father and I have split up our teams. We're both going to work on taking down Venom's new leadership and doing our best to …well, whatever; long story short, I need your help with a mission I'm about to do. It's a serious one and the job is a little over our heads but with your help, things will go smoothly."

Bill nodded with a soft sigh. "Okay, okay Marcus. What do you need from me?"

"Satellite footage of the Venom base on Eledard. Just whatever you can get. As recent as you're allowed to give me. I need to see what we're about to go into so we're not hurting ourselves."

"One second." Bill placed his paw over the communicator and, with a muffled tone, excused himself from the meeting. A moment later, out in the hallway, he brought the communicator back to his face and said, "Marcus, are you nuts? I can't do that. You're talking about another planet that isn't part of the Interplanetary Defense Council. I can't _legally_ do that. That's considered spying on a neutral government; politics are involved and proper channels and permission has to be given. And giving you that information without authorization is a _serious_ offense. There's absolutely _no__way_ I can help you because it would jeopardize my… it's just not possible for the General of Corneria to give you what you're asking for, Marcus."

Red frowned. "So, instead of the General of Corneria, can Marcus' friend do it?"

Bill ran his free paw back through his short hair. "Star, look…"

Marcus groaned. "You, Tricky… everyone keeps calling me Star. Look, I understand I'm putting you in a spot but we're doing the mission with or without help. We need anything you can give us. I just don't want to endanger the lives of Fara Phoenix, nor the children of Slippy and Lucy. Or one of your most promising young cadets," he said nodding towards O'Donnell. "Just… see whatever you can do. I appreciate you even considering it either way. Please. Just think about it."

"Alright, McCloud. I've really got to go. Be safe." Grey closed the channel.

"Well that sucked," said Crimson with a frown.

Marcus chuckled and shook his head. "No way, dude. He's totally going to send it. He'll just be discreet about it. Trust me."

"There is _no__way_ you could have read his mind from across Lylat. I'm calling your bluff."

"Just _trust__me_." McCloud hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "You've got the bridge. I'll be right back." He crossed the deck and walked through the automated double doors. They slid shut with a thump behind the fox.

x-

**Bliss ****O****'****Donnell ****tilted ****her ****head ****with ****a ****look ****of ****confusion ****on ****her ****face.** "You want _me_ to help you guys? I have my own team to worry about."

The fur on Marcus McCloud's forehead scrunched up above his brows. "Your team is dormant. You've not had a job in ages because you've been too busy. They all think you're about to inherit the legal rights to your father's team name any day now and so everyone is on hiatus. Am I right?"

Bliss deadpanned. She glanced away from the viewscreen on her end; Marcus took the opportunity to flash a quick grin. She glanced back into the lens as if peering at Marcus from his screen and said, "Listen, I'll help you for a little bit but I'm not flying an Arwing."

"Fine by me." He leaned back in the chair and said, "I'm headed for Eledard. Can you meet us before we arrive?"

"Yeah." She leaned back in the chair on her side of the channel and started filing her nails. "What about my brother? Is this his idea?"

"Nope. It's mine. I trust you two will get along, right?"

"We've both done a great deal of growing up in this past year, McCloud. What's going on, anyhow?"

"I want the fame and glory for myself." Marcus grinned again, this time allowing her to see it. "So I told my parents I wanted to challenge them to see who could defeat this new leader of Venom. The headlines will read, '_New __StarFox __team __defeats __Venom __forces __with __the __aid __of __the __future __leader __of __the __new __generational __StarWolf __team._' I know it's a little long, so I'm thinking the shorthand version will say, '_Junior __StarFox __and __StarWolf __save __the __day_.' I'm thinking we could use your help."

"Fine by me. My girl has been busy with some sort of science thing; it'll be nice to have something to do. Plus you have several female pilots on your team. I like seeing a team leader who doesn't play that 'good ole boy network' bullshit."

"Fair enough, Bliss. We'll rendezvous in about three hours, does that work for you?"

She offered a curt nod. "Actually, it does. See you then." The channel closed on her side, causing a plain screen to fill Marcus' monitor with a logo at the center. He stared at the words, '_End __Transmission_' for a moment then readjusted his eyes, staring at the translucent reflection of himself. After taking a moment to ponder, he opened a new channel to his father's ship.

Falco answered. "Hey kiddo. You ready to throw in the towel already?" Behind Falco's head, Marcus could see the flash of a booster through the canopy glass.

"Out on the mission, huh? I called to let you guys know we're going to bring in another pilot. Crimson O'Donnell's sister."

"That's okay, kiddo. We're going to contact Asper later on. Not right now but soon. So, about this whole… asking Fara the big question thing – I just wanted to be the voice of reason, Marcus… Remember this: Wedding rings are the world's smallest handcuffs. Understand?"

"Yeah, I hear ya'. I'm still going to do it. And I appreciate your help in the matter. I'm just waiting for the right time. Maybe our first major team victory or maybe I'll just do something private if the mood is right later on this evening. I'm not sure yet. I just want the setting to be perfect."

"Yeah, kid, I hear ya'. Personally, Kat'n I are startin' to talk real good again. I just don't want'cha to rush this crap. Keep your head in the game. Women'll wait for ya'. Don't get all mixed up in that until the dust settles or whatever."

"Falco… I've got this. It's all I can think about. Actually doing it will help me get my head back in the game. That's where you and I are different. Anyway, good luck and stay safe, you guys." This time, Marcus ended the transmission first. His screen went dark. He stood up and walked back out to the bridge then said, "Crimson… I have some stuff to tell you… first of all, I'm going to propose to Fara and I'm sure you already know all the details but I just needed to get the hype off my chest so I can focus. Second of all, your sister is going to fly for us starting today."

"My sister, huh? Like I was saying... both O'Donnell kids flying for a McCloud. Hell, dad'll LOVE hearing _that_. …Not. Anyway," Red changed the subject with a swish of his tail. "Girls are complicated, man. Sugar and I had something real good. Then I get shot at and she tries to distance herself so that she won't "_be __heart broken_" if I get killed." He shrugged and said, "I don't understand girls, man. Y'know, that Social Networking site I use really needs to add, _'__still__banging__my__ex_' as a relationship status. Is it _weird_ that I want more from the girl than just casual sex? She used to make me dinner. I want that again, it was awesome."

Marcus ran his fingers back through his headfur. "Okay, uh, do you have any other stellar advice for me?"

"Uh, when you walk into a spider web, you instantly learn karate."

The fox deadpanned at his best friend. "Yeah? Hey, I know a gay guy who sounds like an owl." He crossed the bridge. The double doors at the back slid apart for him.

Crimson called back to him. "Who?" He watched Marcus walk off the bridge and called out, louder, "WHO!" He paused then grimaced. "Screw you! You're an ass!" The doors slid shut with a thump. Crimson sighed and, in a soft voice, said, "Okay, you actually got me for once. Douche."

x-

* * *

**Fara ****Phoenix ****looked ****up** and smiled at the sight of her boyfriend. She leaned back against the counter, holding a cup of coffee in her right paw. "Hey hon. Tricky is taking a nap. So what's up?"

"We're going to have Red's sister join the team for a little while. Just a few hours from now, but she'll be using her own ship. What's up with you hon?"

"Just relaxing. What's on your mind?"

"Oh, I'm just thinking about the old days when we used to sit around and be bored and wish for excitement like we've had on and off over the last year."

Fara took a sip of her coffee then said, "Yeah. I remember those days. When I was younger, I remember seeing people so bored during a layover flight that they put in an earbud from their music player and started following other people around the star-port, saying, '_Copy __that, __I __have __a __visual_,' into their shirt sleeve. Boredom is extremely unproductive. Want some coffee?"

He chuckled at the amusing mental image. "Sure." Marcus reached for a fresh cup and held it out towards her.

She took the full pot and filled his cup then put it back on the heating pad and took another sip from her own. "I think having both O'Donnell twins on the roster could help a great deal. The question will be whether or not Bliss is able to get along with the rest of the crew between sorties."

"So, Tricky didn't seem to last very long in training, huh? You think he'll be a help?"

"Yeah. But it's the middle of the night at The Great City on Sauria, right now. I told him I want him to be sharp and focused so he can learn things I teach him. Technically I sent him to bed after a brief conversation asking him to show me a few things that he can do. I fed him, too. Just like you asked."

Crimson O'Donnell walked into the room. "Hey you two. Ship is on autopilot. We'll need that pilot droid brain hooked up soon. So what's up?" He moved to a fridge and took out a frozen dinner then approached the microwave.

"Not much," replied Fara. She took another sip of her coffee and winked at Marcus.

McCloud glanced at his friend who shut the microwave and punched in a time on the side panel then he looked back at Fara and pursed his lips with a return wink. The two foxes continued their secret flirting for several seconds until Crimson turned back to face them.

Fara asked, "Have you ever flown with Bliss before? I mean, I know you were flying a little bit together last year, but I mean… did you two grow up together flying as wing mates or anything like that?"

"Not really, but she's a good pilot. She doesn't fool around or act childish when she's at the controls of her fighter."

"That's good to know," Marcus said, placing his lips against the side of his coffee mug.

"Yeah, she's okay. She'll probably flirt with you, Fara. And Vivian. Just to be goofy." He turned back to the microwave and pulled the door open with one second left on the timer. "I like to stop the microwave with one second to go – it makes me feel like a bomb defusal expert."

Fara shook her head. "Marcus, we're all doomed. We need to start flying practice drills as a team immediately to put a sense of urgency into the pilots so they take things seriously."

"C'mon, I'm just kidding!" Crimson offered them both a broad grin.

"You're right, I don't want this team falling apart when going up against old pros who are so damn good, their names are in Cornerian Middle School history text books. Schedule the first drill as soon as Bliss arrives; Eledard can wait."

"My thoughts exactly," said Phoenix with a firm nod.

Crimson's eyes widened. "Aw c'mon! I said I was joking. I really do open the damn thing with one second to go, though. But that doesn't mean I'm not a serious pilot! You guys know that!" He pulled the food out, still glancing back over his shoulder at them with eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Relax, guys! I have plenty of urgency when I fly, after all. C'mon. Lighten up!"

Fara finished her coffee, walked to the sink and placed it within then ran the water briefly. She turned around, approached Crimson and narrowed her gaze then folded her arms. "Listen up, mister. If you think I'm going to go _easy_ on you just because you've had a few good sorties in the past, you are _very_ mistaken. And… furthermore!" She narrowed her eyes further, bared her teeth briefly then took a deep breath… "I _totally_ just… got you."

"Wait, what?"

Fara's scowl disappeared, replaced with a devious and playful smile. "I said _I__got__you_. You dork. Don't forget, I was in stasis – I'm only a few years older than you and I still know how to have fun and I _totally_ just got you." She unfolded her arms and jabbed him in the shoulder with her left paw. "Buck up, Red. I'm one tricky vix." She walked past him, brushing her shoulder against his then waved for Marcus to follow her. "C'mon, flyboy. Did you contact Bill?"

"Yeah, I sure did." Marcus finished his coffee, tossed the mug to Crimson, adding, "Put that in the sink, will ya'?" Then he hurried out of the rec room with Fara. "How'd you know, babe?" The doors slid shut behind him and he put his arm around Fara's waist. "And for the record, you definitely fooled him. He was stiff as a board when you glared at him like that."

Fara giggled. "Yeah, I saw it on his face. Anyway, what did Bill say?"

"No, of course. He was also irritated that we bothered him during an important meeting."

Phoenix lifted her left wrist, glanced at her watch then slipped her arm around his waist, pushing her paw into his back pocket. "Knowing General Grey, we should have an encoded optic-mail waiting to be read. I doubt it will be real time video or useful photographs."

"What would he have sent to us, then?"

The vixen replied with a Cheshire grin. "I have a hunch." She used her free paw to pull out her communicator and flipped it open. She used her thumb to dial and seconds later the small screen showed a picture of an aging cheetah. "Chester! How are you, old man?"

The feline smirked. "Well, well… if it isn't Fara Phoenix again. A pleasure as always. You're not still darting off into no-fly-zones with prototype starfighters in some sort of romantic notion that you can save the day with roguish young pilots named 'McCloud' are you?"

"Oh, you remember that little incident, do you? Well then you probably also know I _am_ still darting about in starfighters with romantic notions, trying to save the day with roguish young pilots named 'McCloud'. Marcus McCloud, that is."

"Yes, I've heard. I had the pleasure to meet him recently. Good boy, good pilot. Seriously, though… what do I owe the pleasure of your communiqué?"

"Chester, I need help running a data encryption that uses a military algorithm. Satellite footage – I need a way to make our computers stream data from an encrypted military satellite. I most likely have the access code you'll need. Can you set up an interface?"

"You'll have to give me remote access to your ship's servers so I can work from home. The connection will be a little slow, though. You won't have real-time feed; can you settle for something in the neighborhood of a three second delay?"

"Yes, we sure can." She smiled and pursed her lips. "You're a peach, Chester. Thanks old friend."

"Old, huh? For you, we were friends only a few years ago. About six or seven if I'm not mistaken."

"That's right on the nose. Six years and four months. We'll catch up again some time. Also, I heard about your harrowing adventure's injuries. You're a tough old man from the old warhorse generation. You'll be fine."

He smirked. "Miss Phoenix, I was never a soldier. That crappy little lizard had me perform things on the GreatFox's computer that caused a lot of innocent people to suffer financially. He used my hacking skills then let me suffer the indignation of knowing I had done a dishonorable deed. That stings far worse than taking a pistol strike to the backside of my head. Just saying… I feel like a traitor."

"Do you want the chance to make up for what they had you do?"

"How so?" asked the feline, quirking a single brow.

"We don't have anyone to pilot the GreatFox. ROB is on the carrier and working with the older generation of StarFox, independently of Marcus' team. You've been a radio operator most of your life but I'm sure you know how to navigate a helm and operate an old dreadnaught ship. We could use your help, here. You'd have to be quick, though. You'll be dispatching fighters again, operating the radio and occasionally firing the ship's main guns. Think you're up for it?"

Chester grinned at them. "I hope you don't think too badly of me, Fara but… you're too late." He noted the fennec's look of confusion and told her, "Fox McCloud called me first. Thirty minutes before you called. I'll still send you a program that will help with the data encryption but… they've asked me to help them operate their cruiser. They said it was a generational team and to be honest, I'd feel more comfortable fighting alongside people my own age. They said they were having problems with their robotic pilot because the parts he'll need are on _your_ ship. Perhaps you can barter for ROB, repair him and use him to pilot your ship?"

Marcus smirked and whispered, "Fara, Chester is a good guy and all but I'll take ROB any day." He raised his voice, speaking so that the cheetah would hear over the communicator. "What's wrong with ROB, exactly?"

"Not sure, young man. I'm on a shuttle headed out to the Carrier ship as we speak. They said something about a failing internal component. They deactivated him until they could find a replacement but the nearest parts distributer is on Corneria and I'm coming from Katina. Whatever this part is, they said the spare is on your cruiser."

Marcus eased his arm from Fara's waist and pulled out his own communicator. He turned away from Fara so that she could finish her conversation with Chester then he opened a channel to his mother. He saw the bridge background and immediately asked, "Hey mom, you're not in a fighter with the rest of the team right now?"

"Well, no – how did you know?"

"I spoke to Falco about an addition to the team. Sounds like you have one of your own. We just spoke to Chester – what's wrong with ROB?"

"Oh, he'll be fine. But a power coupling is degraded to the point where he needed to be shut down. The part we need isn't manufactured anymore but there is a warehouse on Corneria that still has it in stock. We're nowhere near there at the moment. I'm here to pilot the carrier."

"Let's make a trade. I have the parts you need for ROB. I'd rather have ROB, so I'll trade you something for him."

Krystal smiled at her son. "A business transaction, hmm? Very well. Thirty shield barriers. The new ones, no used units. They have to be in their original packaging, still factory sealed. You should have thirty, not counting the used units."

"Fine. You want our whole stock? Let's barter then. How about I give you _twenty_ shield barriers and your staff for ROB in his current condition?"

"Fine. Deal. …My staff is still on the cruiser?"

"It sure is. Both of them are here."

She frowned. "Not sure how I managed to forget it. Hm. Very well then. How would you like to do this trade?"

"I'll send a pilot out to meet you and bring back ROB. Expect Theodore in an hour."

"Alright, love. Take care of yourself." Krystal closed the connection.

Marcus turned to Fara and grinned. "Okay, I'm going to go and get Teddy. I'll send him with the shield barriers, mom's staff and some extra spending cash. That way he can buy supplies from them directly. When he gets back, we'll have Red sit down and go through everything; we'll get started on cracking the satellite feed over Eledard. You and I will start drawing out a plan to shut down that base. We need to make those guys blind then we need to destroy the base somehow. I'm thinking a ground mission. If we destroy the reactor they'll have to flee and with nowhere to go, they'll have to leave the planet. Then Venom loses their ability to see us coming if we jump from Sector-X to the defense perimeter's border. We'll be in Venom Airspace in no time flat. And Venom will be focused on the other team so they'll never see us coming when it's time to strike."

"You've really thought this out," she said with a smile. "I'll donate the credits for Theodore to use. I really want to win this." She pulled her communicator back out and used the internet interface on the small screen to transfer money from her account. "Have Theodore ready to go as soon as possible. I'll check the optic-mails from Grey and Chester."

"Sounds great." He kissed her and she returned the affectionate gesture then they both went in different directions.

x-

* * *

**A ****series ****of ****numbers ****and ****letters** scrolled down from top to bottom. Diagnostic information, programming code… it disappeared and a visual of flashing red and various control panels came into view. Audio came online, a proximity warning overlapped a shield failure tone.

ROB / NUS64 rotated his head from left to right but was alone in the shuttle. His head tilted forward, taking note of the power cables that ran from his torso to a power jack above the navigational panel. A screen adjacent to the cockpit glass panels read, "Re-pressurizing cabin; stand by." Seconds later, it read, "Cabin pressure normalized."

Tactical sensors showed two blips on the screen. ROB rotated about, took the controls and maneuvered the small vessel. An Imperial-marked shuttle and a single fighter escort jumped through a gate. The vivid green expanse bathed ROB in brilliant light; the canopy dimmed from an auto-polarizer then the incandescence disappeared.

"I'm doomed," ROB muttered. He turned to the navigational computer and pulled up the last course reference then reached behind himself to bring the propulsion unit online. With his other hand, he brought the acceleration controls to full power then reached for the communication panel and opened a channel to the ship at the coordinates in his nav-com.

Marcus's visual filled a small section of the windshield. "ROB! Hey there! I see Theodore must have bypassed your faulty power component and ran you, hardline, into the shuttle, huh? Clever guy. Is he sleeping in the back now that you're at the wheel?"

"The shuttle is empty. I just finished booting and found myself with the airlock having just closed. The cabin was still re-pressurizing when I activated. I'm alone in the shuttle. Two small ships with imperial markings fled through the jumpgate to unknown coordinates. I'm en route to your location now."

"Dammit! I should have sent a fighter escort!" Marcus turned about and punched a nearby bulkhead. "ROB, you're going to have to help us finish your repairs. Vivian is competent and will work with you to get you fully online. Then we're going to find Theodore and go after him right away. You're near the gate, can you run a scan to determine the coordinates of the last jump location?"

"Affirmative. I can scan the control ring. This gate is autonomous and controlled by remote. I can access the computer core."

"I'll see you shortly. This will determine whether or not we're calling off the team challenge. If they took him to Venom then we're completely screwed because we're not ready to go after them just yet."

"Stand by." ROB closed the channel then moved towards the orbital jump gate station. He opened an interface with the station computer and scanned the coded transmission then replied as a computer, directly interfacing with the station. He saved the data stream information then reset the coordinates, reconfiguring the jump gate. ROB brought the shuttle around and piloted towards the gate at a new jump location.

The shuttle passed through the vibrant green portal and emerged fifty thousand kilometers from the GreatFox cruiser. He opened a channel to Marcus and said, "I was successful in creating an interface with the computer on the jump gate. I successfully downloaded the coordinates of the enemy's destination and reprogrammed the gate to bring me to you immediately. The location is at the heart of Sector Y, not far from here. Permission to land; please have Vivian meet me on the flight deck with the new power adaptor."

"Permission granted. Hurry." Marcus closed the transmission.

ROB typed quickly, setting a vector and realigning the shuttle's attitude with the ship ahead. Once level, he maneuvered into place and landed before the main bay doors were even fully open. He saw Vivian hurry out across the deck and opened the aft hatch. "Ah, Vivian, whose mother is so lovely." He turned about and greeted her when she boarded the shuttle. "You'll have to hurry – I can continue to run off the shuttle's power supply. Remove the rear plate; the latch on my left shoulder. I'll walk you through it."

She quickly approached ROB and knelt behind him. "Okay, big guy. Walk me through this step by step. Did you see what happened to Ted?"

"Negative. I finished my boot sequence after he was already pulled from the runabout, via a forced shuttle-to-shuttle docking procedure."

"I should have gone with him," she said with a sigh of despair.

"Affirmative. And… Vivian, we'll get him back."

She offered a brief smile. "I've always liked machines. Maybe not as much as Violet Lombardi, but I've always had a soft spot for a 'bot."

x-

* * *

**Fara ****placed ****a ****paw ****on ****her ****boyfriend****'****s ****shoulder**. "It won't be long now. What do you think they want with him?"

Marcus kept his eyes on the lengthy pillars of light that streaked past. "They saw an opportunity and seized it. I should have sent someone as an escort. I was _stupid_ to send him out there alone in a shuttle. The runabout doesn't have very much to offer except speed. I can't believe I did that to him."

"Calm down," said Fara in a sharp tone. Then, in a softer voice, she said, "Stay calm. The more you stay calm, the more you can help him." Her left ear flickered and she glanced over her shoulder just as ROB entered the bridge. "Hey there, handsome. Good to see you running again. And glad to have you aboard."

Marcus offered a thin smile to the robotic pilot. "Take the helm, ROB. We're nearing Sector Y, get ready to disengage the jumpdrive. I want to enter the sector at the edge and then head into the densest part of the nebula so we can sneak up on whoever we're up against."

"Affirmative." ROB approached the controls and settled into a chair then began linking in to the ship's main systems. "Long range scanners show a large, dense metallic cluster concealed in part of the nebula. We can enter at the bottom of the 'Y' and move into position as necessary. Stand by…" He paused then said, "Confirmed: The enemy shuttle is docking with a large metallic mass." More typing, then, "Disengaging the sub-light engines."

Red rubbed his chin. "This ship might be old but it's fast as hell. What's the top speed anyhow? And incidentally, how can we scan things that far out at this speed?"

ROB replied before anyone else could speak. "Eighty-five percent of light speed. I've employed an emitter to use tachyon and neutrino particles in the long-range sensors. Those particles travel faster than the speed of light, allowing me to determine what is ahead when moving at this speed. Stand by." The pillars of light slowed to dots and the dreadnaught moved into the bottom of the nebula's tail. "If we go any faster than our current speed, they will detect movement or see the swirling of the nebula gasses. At our current speed, we'll reach the enemy defense perimeter in thirty minutes."

Marcus clenched his jaw. "Okay, shields up – we're at full alert. We need to run a recon patrol to see what we're up against. And for it to work, we'll need Theodore's cloaking device. That will only work on one ship at a time. So… I'll go out there and see what we're up against. Then I'll come back and we'll install the cloaking device on the shuttle so we can get him out." He turned to the fennec and frowned. "Fara, you're the expert on ground assault. You'll have to be the one that breaks in and frees him. We'll cover you with the Arwings."

The doors at the back of the bridge swished open. "I'll go with her."

ROB turned his head. "Crimson O'Donnell's sister has joined the crew?"

"Yeah, sorry, she arrived minutes before you landed," said Marcus.

ROB turned his head back towards the main view screen and offered a digitized sigh. "We're doomed."

"Can it, kitchen appliance. We'll be just fine. I'll go with Fara and we'll get Theodore. That leaves us three pilots to cover the shuttle. GreatFox should stay far back, perhaps at the densest part of the nebula, where all three sections meet at the center of the 'Y'.

Red folded his arms. "Why you, Bliss?"

"Because I'm better with a blaster than you, Star, or the daughter of 'Giggles'. Now. We're going to need something big enough to plow through enemies. I wish we could take a tank but it won't fit on the shuttle. We'll need to come up with…"

Crimson interrupted. "Take the dinosaur. Tricky."

"Fine, that will work," said Bliss.

"Slow down," Marcus exclaimed. "You're not here to run the show. Just slow down. Yes, you've got a good idea and if you think you can use Tricky then take him. But we're a team. We do things together. I'll make the final call. In this case, I'm going to defer to Fara because she's the expert on this sort of thing."

Phoenix rubbed her paws together. "It's a routine boarding raid combined with a routine prisoner extraction. We'll take an extra assault rifle for Theodore so we can arm him when we start our escape. I'll bring a med-kit just in case he's injured. We'll dock, create a shock and awe effect by attacking with explosives, then we'll have ROB network with the shuttle's computer via remote access, so he can use the instant transmission gear on the shuttle to transport all of us back _to_ the shuttle. We'll have to stay together as a group of four for it to work. Then we'll set off an explosive charge to destroy the docking clamp. The force will blow the shuttle away from the enemy installment and give us momentum while we boot the propulsion system. The Arwings will swoop in to provide covering fire, destroy any turrets that may be able to see us through the nebula, then we'll all head back to the GreatFox. Just remember, everyone… we'll be flying with our instruments because we won't be able to see very much through the thick yellow cloud."

Bliss nodded slowly as if impressed by Fara. "Okay, good. We're all on the same page, here. Let's get ready to fly. Who's doing the recon patrol?"

"Me," said Marcus.

Fara shook her head. "No, that's not appropriate. You're team leader. If you can't go with a wingman, you shouldn't be putting yourself at risk. Crimson?"

"I'm all about it," said Red. He pushed his paws together and cracked his knuckles. "Now that Falco isn't here, I have to be the team badass. The rest of you guys should get yourselves ready to fly."

Marcus frowned and nodded. "Fine. ROB, turn down all non-essential systems so we can't be traced. Take the hyperspace engines offline and use maneuvering thrusters. Bliss, find Vivian and tell her to stand by to fly shortly. Fara, stay up here for now and see what you and ROB can learn from the instruments and scan the area to see if Venom has any patrols exiting or entering the nebula. Red, don't let me down. We need good reconnaissance information. Ted is depending on us. I'm going to head down to the flight deck and make sure all the ships are fueled and loaded."

Bliss turned to her brother and gave him a pat on the back. "Don't get yourself into trouble, Crimmy. I mean it. I don't want to have to tell our father that you got smeared across an enemy ship because you didn't know how to fly with your instruments." She began walking with him. They left the bridge together. "I mean it."

"Bliss, relax. Did you tell dad you're flying for us now?"

She shook her head rapidly. "Hell no! Later, after this gig is finished, I'll tell him that I came to save your tail but I won't exactly tell him I'm going to fly for Fox McCloud's son. Besides, mom would have something snarky to say and I really don't want to hear it."

He nodded in agreement. They continued to walk together until arriving at the flight deck. Both looked about then briefly embraced one another.

"Don't die. I only have one twin. Dad only has one son to carry on his precious surname. It's not easy to see in that soup, so stay alert. Remember running lights will reflect off of the yellow gasses rather brightly so you won't know how close you are to flying right into their hull. It may look like lightning flashing in the clouds and…"

"What the hell, Bliss? Why are you suddenly acting like this? You're the closest thing I have to a _brother_. Suck it up and grow a pair of balls."

She smirked and turned away. "Why does everyone say that? Balls are weak and sensitive. The really _tough_ people aspire to grow a vagina – those things take a pounding."

Crimson face-faulted. "You're frickin' incorrigible. And you fail at life for your cringe-worthy use of the 'v' word."

"Vagina," she replied with a smirk. Then she started chanting it.

Crimson covered his ears. "You're a freak of nature." He took the lift down to where his ship sat on the flight deck then called back at her. "A FREAK!" His voice echoed off the bulkheads of the large deck.

Bliss buffed her nails on her chest. "What a weenie." She headed to the port side and shouldered the female locker room door. Bliss stalked past several lockers, the detox shower stall and three sinks. At the end of the room was several bathroom stalls. She leaned over and saw a pair of boots with overalls puddled around the ankles. O'Donnell made her way to an adjacent stall, opened it and settled down on the surprisingly clean toilet. She quietly put her feet up on the door of her stall, crossed her ankles and listened.

She heard the crinkling of cellophane. A grin tugged at the hybrid wolf's muzzle. She continued to listen intently as Vivian worked to open a tampon package as quietly as possible. Suddenly, Bliss pounded her fist on the side of the stall. "HEY! Is that CANDY? CAN I HAVE SOME?" She quickly held her breath and listened. The frazzled rabbit in the next stall appeared to be breathing through clenched teeth.

"Not funny," Vivian murmured under her breath.

"No? Not even a little bit?" Bliss stood up, put her right foot on the toilet and boosted herself up so she could peer over the stall wall. "What do vampires use as teabags? Used tampons, of course."

Vivian, not yet realizing she was being watched, rolled her eyes with a huff of indignation. "Also _not_ funny. Damn, I didn't realize Crimson's sister was such a…"

"…Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. I'm a 'trip,' right? More like, I'm the _whole__vacation_, really. Listen, Marcus wants us to get ready to fly. Suit up, girlie. We'll be flying blind out there. I hope you're good at reading your instruments."

Vivian lifted an earstalk then glanced up at Bliss and glowered at her. "You're a pervert, y'know that? And for your information, I'm one _hell_ of a pilot. I'm patient, I'm mature and Theodore is a good guy – he needs our help. I hope you're not as goofy in the cockpit as you are in person."

"Yeah, goofy… that's me. Look, I'm not going to be out there holding your paw. I'm helping Fara to light the place up so we can get our pilot back. Thanks for making it easy to find you. I was afraid I was going to have to search the ship, look for your quarters, check the break room… all that jazz. You made it easy by hanging out in the locker room. I could smell the blood from the other end of the…"

"Don't you have _any __couth_ at _all_?"

"What? We all have to do it, sweetheart. I know my coochie smells when I'm on my," again she found herself interrupted.

"You're _so_ _vulgar_."

Bliss smiled brightly. "I _am_ a little crass, aren't I?"

"Repugnant, distasteful, offensive, disgusting, obnoxious, obscene, revolting, _abhorrent_, even."

"I'm not _always_ this vile, Miss Hare. Now, can you show me where I can change _out_ of my flight suit? Should I store it in one of those lockers? I assume one belongs to you and one belongs to Fara, so… which one is free? And on that note, you'll need to get into yours so we can launch at a moment's notice."

Vivian replied in a sharp tone. "Fine, fine. The ones on the far left belong to Fara and myself. Use the one on the far right, it's empty and it's clean. The ones in the center have extra gear stowed in them." Vivian pulled up her overalls, flushed the toilet and stormed out of the bathroom stall. "You _suck_ at first impressions, O'Donnell."

"My, my, my… testy aren't we? Oh, wait, how could I forget… it's that time of the month for you. Poor dear."

From further up the locker room, Vivian called back, "Shut up! You're _annoying_!"

Bliss could hear the sound of a locker being opened forcefully. She grinned and hurried after the rabbit. "You just don't like me because I'm a lesbian, is that it?"

"You're _trying_ to make me feel uncomfortable. Sorry, I don't judge based on preference. I'm not afraid of you just because you like girls."

Bliss leaned up against the center lockers. "Many women actually _are_ unnerved by lesbians. Like we're going to somehow force ourselves upon you."

"Force…? Huh? You're a fruitcake but I doubt you're going to try and rape me. Get over yourself."

O'Donnell gazed down at her nails. "Oh, dearie, 'rape' is such a _harsh_ word. I prefer, '_struggle__to__snuggle_.' You'd probably like it, though. I'm quite a spatula. I find cute little straight girls and _flip__'__em_ to the dark side. You'd make an adorable lipstick lesbian."

Vivian pulled the flight suit up over her overalls then glared at Bliss. "I'm really not in the mood to deal with you right now. And _no_, it's not because of this time of the month; Theodore is one of my best friends. We've been close for the past year. I really care about him and right now he's in trouble. All you seem to be able to do is make jokes about every little thing… you're putting up a huge wall of ice between us. If you ever have _any_ hope of breaking that ice, you really need to act like an intelligent adult and quit acting like some snot-nose teenage punk. I like your brother, he must be the odd-man-out in your family because he's a good kid, he's getting good grades in the academy and I respect him. You, however… you're worse than your father." Vivian zipped up the front of the suit, slammed her locker shut and stormed out of the locker room.

Bliss casually removed her own flight suit, stuffing the gloves and the accessories in the locker on the far right. "That was a humbling compliment if I ever heard one. I'll have to brag to daddy about it later." She removed the flight suit and hung it up in the locker then closed it and walked out of the locker room clad only in panties and a cammie top. "I wonder if Fara will have anything she can lend me; she looks about my size." She shamelessly walked up the hall in her undergarments.

Tricky stepped into the hall, just ahead at an intersection. He turned to see her and tilted his head. "I see Papetoon, I see LaMants, I see Bliss's underpants!"

"Where in the hell is LaMants?"

Tricky lifted his head a bit. "Uh, DUH… it's the capital of where the Hightop tribe is from. _Eeevery_body knows _that_."

"Sorry, I don't know a lot about Sauria. So, you're going to go on a mission with me and Fara Phoenix. I hope you know how to kick tail. You look like you just woke up."

"Well, yeah. I tried to sleep a little while ago but I can't. So, what's the mission about?"

"Theodore Toad was abducted."

"What? Really!" Tricky frowned. "We're going to rescue him then, huh?"

"Yeah, soon. So just be ready. Don't go back to bed or anything." Bliss walked past him and headed for the bridge to find Fara. The doors slid open and she sauntered in, smirking at Marcus and his girlfriend. "Hey, gang. I need some duds. Got anything I can borrow?"

Marcus brought his paw to his face. "Fara, can you help her. Bliss, I really hope it wasn't a mistake to bring you here. We need your help, after all."

"Yeah, I know. But I don't want to wear my flight suit around. It chafes."

Fara took Bliss by the forearm. "Come with me. We'll find you something."

x-

* * *

**Theodore ****Toad ****rubbed ****his ****forehead** then sat up. "Lost my hat," he mumbled.

"Don't sound so dejected," replied a male voice in Cornerian.

Ted looked about in the dim illumination. He got to his feet then rubbed his stomach where he'd been struck, earlier.

"Sorry, Mister Toad. I know the butt of a rifle in your gut can be a rather unpleasant sensation but we wanted to make sure you were properly subdued."

Ted took two deep breaths then said, "Where are you? I can't see you; why did you attack my ship? Are you reptilian?"

"Does it matter?" returned the unseen male. "Yes, you are our prisoner. However, if you cooperate, we will release you in an escape pod and jettison you nearby to your Cornerian cruiser. You see, Mister Toad, we require your assistance. We would have preferred your father and, in fact, we were preparing to mount an attack on your parents' carrier ship. However, when we came across you, unprotected in a shuttle, we decided to take the route of less risk. You're a victim of circumstance."

"Yeah? 'N you talk a lot, mister. So what is it that you need so damn bad, huh?"

The voice remained silent for a moment. Right as Theodore was about to ask his question again, the unseen person responded again. "Mister Toad, to answer your previous question, yes… we are reptilian. We are a faction of freedom fighters who want Venom independence. We don't have a name for ourselves yet but that is of no matter. We're formed by brothers and sisters of religious independents, delegates, enlisted and ex-military officers. We're formed by idealists, rebels, layman workers, scientists and people who simply want change. We're a small group that have left Venom to find a way to fight back."

Theodore rubbed his forehead again. "You're saying that you're comprised of various types who want change. Okay, so, what is it that you're fighting for and what the sam-hell you need me for?"

"We believe that Venom should lead itself. No Imperial government, no empire, no off-world leaders and no Krazoans. We're tired of people attempting to lead us when many of us are quite capable of leading ourselves. We're capable of trade with other worlds without help. We also believe in the old orthodox teachings from before Andross Bowman's arrival."

Theodore groaned and asked, "How do I fit into this?"

"We lack people with technical and engineering skills. We have engineers but we're understaffed and don't have enough people with the technical knowledge to help; our main reactor is offline and without it, our ability to fight against Venom's current leader is beyond our grasp."

"That chick doesn't play around. Look, we're on the same side. We don't want to conquer Venom. We just want to shut down people like Andrew and Dash. We want to stop this crazy woman from Krazoa. I'm supposed to be a mercenary, not a soldier. I don't want a war. I just want to make money on doing jobs. There's a huge difference between getting paid to fight a battle and getting paid to fight a war. Right now, this crazy Krazoan lady is taking Venom to war with Corneria. In fact, they're declaring war officially as we speak. Corneria is in a good position right now. A year ago, they had thousands of new recruits sign up because Andrew Oikonny attacked the capital of Corneria. It's a very, very big volunteer force. Biggest in recorded history. And they're all itching to do what they signed up to do last year. Fight. It's going to be a bloody mess, y'hear? I ain't interested in another damn war. My parents fought their butts off so I could grow up in a time of peace and I'll be damned if Dash, Andrew and now this woman Anezka ain't tryin' to mess it all up. Why don't you _join_ forces with Corneria?"

"Listen Amphi-boid, our races are similar and we respect you. We don't want the help of mammals. But without our reactors…"

"No! You're being narrow-minded! You _do_ need the help of the mammals! Listen here, ya dumb sonuvabitch, you need the help of your planet's future allies. The Lylat system has been divided for long enough! I understand that you guys are doing this religious thing. I respect that. But damn, man, you're up against a planet and a fanatic woman with all sorts of archaic technology we don't understand, not to mention abilities that go well beyond what science can explain. You need help or you're going to be crushed."

"Perhaps we will consider your words. However, right now, we require your assistance. Will you help us freely, or must we force you?"

"Okay, let me get this straight. Because I'm not warm blooded, you want my help? What about an avian?"

"The avian race is fully integrated with the mammal populations of Lylat. We are a deeply religious and fanatically loyal people. We will fight to return Venom to what it believed in before the arrival of Andross. We will be more cultured and sophisticated than before but we _will_ return to the days of Venom caring for itself without interlopers."

"Okay, okay… let me just see your reactors. Perhaps my team can help expedite the process. I bet I could even get my father to help. I really don't want to start a war with someone that might be willing to help us."

The starbase shifted hard, throwing both Theodore and the lizard to the floor. Toad groaned and reached for his shoulder. He rolled to the right to take pressure off of his side then began to lift from the deck. The amphibian tried to roll back the other direction but was unable to maneuver. "Your artificial gravity system failed. Try and do what you can to keep from floating too high. If the system comes back online, you don't want your fall to be any more unpleasant than it already will be."

The lizard appeared to turn about with some measure of a swimmer's grace. He put his feet on the deck, pushed up to the ceiling then pushed himself back to the deck. "I'll try. It appears we're under attack. Are you injured?"

"Bumps and bruises are par for the course in my line of work," said Ted. "So what's your name anyhow?"

"Garrick," replied the reptile. As predicted, the artificial gravity systems came online again. Theodore fell from three feet to the deck, landing flat on his backside with a groan. The lizard hurried over to him and put scaly hands beneath the frog's arms, helping the man to his feet. "The power matrix must have been disrupted. The computer automatically reroutes the grid as necessary. We have to get to the…"

An explosion filled the hallway. Theodore looked up at the beautiful effect then shoved Garrick to the floor. "Plasma conduit!" The ruptured conduit's sparkling explosion roared up the hall. The colorful cloud dissipated as it approached their location but they both felt the heat wave. Overlapping alarms sounded over the intercom. Fire response systems engaged, placing a forcefield on either side of the fire to cut oxygen from the segregated atmosphere.

Words came over the speakers built into the ceiling, spoken in the Venom language. Theodore sat up with a grunt. "What's the computer message saying – I understand "_detected_" and "_party_". What's the rest? Garrick, c'mon, shake it off!"

The dazed lizard brought a hand to the side of his head and sat up slowly. "It… it says a boarding party has been detected – security lockdown protocol in progress."

Theodore looked around in near bewilderment. "We're being boarded? Venom Imperial soldiers only board a ship if they're looking to capture someone important, else they just try and blow up their target."

"We _must_ get to the bridge! Follow me!"

Theodore helped Garrick to get his footing then the two of them headed into the hallway to see if they could circumvent the section with the plasma fire. Garrick cupped his hands together. "I'll boost you up; remove the ceiling panel and we'll climb up into the maintenance crawlspace. We can get to the next deck up."

Toad put his foot into the man's hands then put his other foot on the man's shoulder and reached for the ceiling. He felt around in the light fixture until finding an access lever. The panel eased from its metallic track and he threw it to the floor then climbed up, into the crawlspace. He turned about and leaned halfway out of the hatch and reached down. "C'mon, take my hand." Ted opened his legs and pressed his feet, to the best of his ability, into either side of the crawlspace to brace himself.

Garrick leapt into the air and took the frog's hand. They struggled together until Garrick managed to climb up Theodore's arm. He grappled with the edge of the hatch adjacent to the light fixture then pulled himself the rest of the way into the crawlspace. He crawled over Theodore, took the frog by the belt and helped pull him back up into the maintenance conduit. The two began crawling through for several meters until Garrick stopped to fidget with a hatch access panel on the top of the crawlspace.

The lizard lifted the floor plate up and climbed up onto the floor panels of the next deck up. He turned about and offered his hand to Ted, helping him up. Theodore turned to a nearby porthole and peered out into the yellow nebula. He squinted for a moment then blinked. "I saw an Arwing pass by. We've got to get to your bridge and hail my team! They're still under the impression that you guys abducted me so they're the attacking force!"

"The bridge is this way!" They took off down the hall. Another explosion came from an intersection that led to a turret station. The blast threw both Theodore and Garrick into a bulkhead and all went dark.

x-

* * *

A/N: _Okay,__two__filler__chapters.__Now__we__can__get__back__on__track!__I__had__to__do__a__little__character__development__with__bringing__the__O__'__Donnell__twins__back__in__the__fold,__Theodore__got__a__little__spotlight__action__and__we__even__had__a__few__humorous__one-liners__in__this__chapter.__Okay__then!__Thanks__for__reading!__:D_

_Oddly, when I used a certain font on the iPad, it made anything bold or italic run together as you see, here. So I had to go and put a space between every damn word but I'm too lazy to do it to the above sentences. xD_


	27. The Face of Evil

Chapter -27-  
"The Face of Evil"

**"Theodore, wake up!"** The frog groaned at the sound of his name then eased up onto an elbow. The image of Marcus McCloud slid into focus. Again, Theodore groaned then flopped back to the floor away from the paw beneath his right bicep. He brought both webbed hands to his forehead and sighed then, after a moment to let lucidity return, he sat back up once more.

"I'm okay. Where's that guy who was with me?"

"We have them at gunpoint; we were waiting to hear your report on the situation. Did they hurt you?"

Ted rose to his feet only to have Fara come to his aid, helping him to stand straight. "Naw, Marcus, we need to let them go. I mean, we should verify their story first but that guy says he's on our side. The one that was with me. You guys attacked this place?"

"His name is Garrick," said Phoenix. "I'll have him brought here right away." She guided Theodore to the nearest bulkhead so he could lean against it then she nodded to Marcus and left the area.

Marcus took a moment to look over his fellow mercenary then announced, "You'll live. That guy, Garrick, is being treated for a concussion right now. This isn't like a normal Venom ship. They have kids aboard. They have men and women that appear to be civilians, too. I'm not sure what's going on but… what did the guy tell you?"

"He said they grabbed me because they scanned my ship, saw I was amphibian, and saw the StarFox logo; they thought I was my father. They boarded my ship because I wasn't answering their hails, and they saw ROB. They rushed me off the shuttle to get my help and cooperation but he sounded like he had other reasons. However, we were knocked unconscious from the attack before he could tell me what was going on. They sure rushed me out of that shuttle, though. Also, well, uh…" Theodore rubbed his head again, mumbling incoherently for a moment, and then he added, "Because a leaking injector can explode if something happens to ignite the plasma."

"The shuttle is aboard GreatFox. We'll have to look at it and verify their claim but… they were telling us that their sensors apparently detected a plasma injector leak and because the shuttle's injector sensor was damaged from heat buildup, you probably wouldn't have known – at least not from looking at your internal sensors. So… I want you to verify that as soon as possible. They may have actually saved your life."

"It was damaged alright. Marcus, ROB can look at it right now. Why don't we have him report to the hanger?" Ted brought his hand back to the side of his head and sighed. "I have a headache. I want to verify this guy's claims, too. I wouldn't want him and his people at gunpoint if they honestly were trying to help us. He told me my injector was damaged and it posed a danger to me. He didn't go into detail about the leaking plasma but he did sound like he had more to tell me than, 'We need your help and thought you were Slippy Toad.' They seem to be having problems and want to attack Venom's military leaders. Garrick said something about wanting to start a movement where Venom runs Venom. I'm not sure if they're fanatics or freedom fighters."

"Well they're quite a large force, considering. But we managed to gather their officers and point the guns of this ship at the other ships in their small fleet, so they have no choice but to stand by. One thing is for sure, they're not terribly happy to see us."

"I don't think they trust mammals, Mark. That's the impression I get. Then again, that crazy Anezka chick apparently pulled the same stunt, locking up all mammals and mammal loyalists back on Venom, so… Who knows right now, reckon? Coincidence, maybe…?"

"Maybe." Marcus turned about in an expectant manner. Fara and Garrick entered the hallway and approached. The grayish-blue furred fox removed a piece of tape from the lizard's mouth. "Alright, I'll be blunt then I'll leave it up to you to explain things. First of all, we really care about our pilot. This was a rescue mission. If you have a beef with us because we're warm blooded then that's not our problem. Second of all, if you need his help, you have help from _all_ of Team StarFox. If we can verify what you told Theodore then we're on the same side and we should form an alliance. We don't exactly need your help against Venom but would be willing to explore a professional business relationship for possible future…" Marcus found himself cut off.

Garrick spoke over the fox with a smirk. "We don't require your help. We don't need an assault team, we need something repaired."

"Let him finish," Fara murmured to the lizard.

Marcus glanced at his mate then back at the reptile. "Okay, look… are you racist?"

"Yes. It's the way I was raised. Mammal after mammal has complicated life on my planet. I care not who this new woman is… Our spies informed us that she's rounded up the mammals but it doesn't matter. It wasn't the fault of the apes that fought alongside of us during the first war. No, you see, they simply shouldn't be there; Venom should be mammal free. This woman is foolish to keep them locked up. They should be released to go about their business. Again, we don't need your help."

Theodore glanced at Fara and Marcus then shook his head, addressing Garrick. "My team, a group of fighter pilots, over powered your ships. They staged a precision raid-and-rescue operation. If you can't fight a few good pilots, how can you fight an entire planet of your own people?"

Garrick balled up his fists. "We're staging a revolution. If we can take back Venom peacefully without fighting ourselves then we're better off. There was already one civil war a while back… while brief, it was still completely unnecessary. We'll fight to protect ourselves but our true goal is to win favor with the people of Venom by educating them to stand up for themselves."

Fara's ears dropped. "You're in no position to start a provisional government and Venom is in no position to economically survive without an ongoing military occupation with goals and factories and jobs for the masses. Seriously, Garrick… a government? Now? You need scholars to explain how it works, bold leaders to become educated in various ways of running said government, and then the people need the courage to work together at changing their old ways for newer, better ones. Are there any political types aboard your fleet? We should talk to them, not you."

Garrick grimaced. "Madam, I assure you that…"

"You're wrong," Fara replied in a firm tone. "You need to become more open-minded." She lifted her paws, gesturing for him to remain quiet. The fennec vixen drew in a deep breath and expelled a wanton sigh. "Okay. Let's start with diplomacy… where was it when you needed Theodore's help? You didn't ask. You forwent the golden rule of politics: talk first, action last. Where were your diplomacy skills? What sort of government operates without politics or diplomacy? A dictatorship. Aren't your people ready for something other than Totalitarianism?"

Garrick turned to Fara and folded his arms. "Our provisional governing plan calls for a circle of leaders and a spokesman to speak on behalf of the planet to other governments. When things have settled, we will draw up a proper governing body, but only once we've decided what will benefit Venom the most. We're not opposed to elections; we _are_ open minded people, _mammal_."

McCloud holstered his sidearm and asked, "Why not join the Interplanetary Defense Council so you have planetary protection while you work out your differences? There's tons of ways to do this without… well, first thing is first, really… you have to shut down the woman controlling your planet _right now_."

"Indeed. Our people will turn away from her."

Fara shook her head slowly. "You can only govern with the consent of the governed. If the people – police and military included – do not follow the leader, then they are powerless. However, if the leader is strong enough to have the population, police and military back them… then they have all the power they need. Our intel shows that Venom is quite content to follow this woman, Anezka Vacek. So you have the same problem that we do… she needs to be stopped and she's powerful enough to inspire fear in her subjects."

The reptile balled up his fists and shouted, "SHE IS ONE WOMAN!"

Marcus shook his head, glanced at Fara then back at Garrick. "She's a Krazoan half-breed _demoness_. She's no joke."

"She's nothing compared to the ion cannons of a starship. We'll blast her out of her compound and crush her into dust."

Fara glanced back at Marcus then turned to face Garrick with a frown. "She's survived a nuclear blast at point blank range. Conventional weapons don't work on her that we're aware of. At least not that one."

Garrick brought his hand to his jaw. A pensive look crept across his face. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Of this are you _absolutely_ sure?"

"Her own people trapped her in the bedrock inside of Sauria eons ago," Marcus explained. "It was a nuclear blast that released her and she walked away from it unscathed." He snapped his fingers and turned to Fara. "If we can determine what killed the Krazoa off, we can use it to take her out the same way!"

The vixen brought a fingernail to her lips then smiled slightly. "Now we just need to _ask_ the Krazoa spirits how to proceed," she said with a firm nod.

Marcus turned back to Garrick. "Look, we thought you guys were attacking my teammate. It was all a misunderstanding. I have a proposition for you: I want you to understand that I'm telepathic so I believe you're sincere about wanting what is best for your people. I'm going to allow Theodore to stay and help you make repairs to your jumpdrive and to the Sector 'Y' jumpgate to help you guys get to Sector 'Z' – that _is_ your destination isn't it? Anyway, I'm taking the rest of my team to Sauria to revisit the spirits and accomplish a few other tasks."

Garrick eyed McCloud for a moment. "You _knew_ our destination? That doesn't _prove _you're telepathic but it does make me wonder. Perhaps if you could tell me what number I'm thinking of right now, then I might…"

"Six… now you're thinking of fourteen… twelve hundred and thirty-seven… forty-fi… wait, wait, now you're thinking of Shrey-Lek. That's not even a number. Why does everyone say, '_think of a number!_' then they switch to a bunch of other numbers at random, then they go to something completely off the cuff? Okay, now you're thinking about your girlfriend – enough already. We should get going." He turned back to Theodore, over by the bulkhead. "You need anything before we head to Sauria?"

Toad shook his head. "If they don't have all the tools I need, I'll just replicate some. You guys stay safe, y'hear?" He glanced over at the reptile, who appeared to be shocked into silence.

"We'll be fine. C'mon, Fara." Marcus gave Garrick a firm pat on the shoulder. "Let's go call off our teams. I'm sensing a lot of tension from both sides. I want this to go as smooth as possible."

x-

* * *

_Forty minutes later…_

**The GreatFox cruiser** emerged from the rippling green vortex of a jump gate. Sauria's purple hue shimmered on the viewscreen. On the bridge, Marcus began pacing. "First thing's first, we should park in a standard orbit and set up a defense perimeter. Then…"

Vivian and Red looked up. ROB's head rotated backwards. "Then?"

Fara approached Marcus and whispered, "What is it?"

McCloud lifted a finger and brought his other paw to his temple. "Hostilities. Dammit. We really don't have time to play these games."

Red slid into a swivel chair and turned to a console. He began typing on a keyboard, bringing up a sensor sweep grid on a dash-mounted monitor at his station. "I'm reading ion power signatures on the planet's surface."

"Ion cannons," murmured Vivian. "What would Vacek want with Sauria? I thought her main goal was Corneria…?"

The doors at the back of the bridge swished open and Bliss hurried towards the group. "I just received a text message from Panther Caruso. He was leaving Sauria and picked up a visual distortion. He turned about to follow it and discovered an invasion force. He's in trouble."

"I thought you hated that guy?" asked Crimson.

"I do," she replied. "But he's a good pilot and he's been _shot down_ just outside of Thorntail Hollow. He's somewhere in the hedge maze, injured."

Marcus brought his right paw to his forehead. "Dammit. This is taking us further and further from our goal of Venom. Okay, listen up people: We're going to spread out and locate this invasion force. I want everyone to stay in the stratosphere until we find either Panther's ship or get a lead on the cloaked bandits. Maybe, by now, they've started their attack and they'll be easy to spot. We'll tie up those loose ends, then we'll visit the spirits and see if we can't figure out how to kill that freak over on Venom. Good plan? Yeah, I agree – let's go!"

Everyone cleared the bridge in a hurry leaving ROB to sigh. "Alone again. Forgotten. Woe is me."

The doors leading to the ready room swished open and Tricky pranced onto the bridge. "I'm ready for action guys! …Guys?" He looked around the empty bridge then approached ROB. "Where did everyone go?"

ROB pointed towards the doors at the back of the bridge. "You should hurry up and catch them. I think they would rather you go with them than to stay here and talk to me."

"Really? Far out!" Tricky broke into a sprint and left the bridge.

"Wshew… that was close." ROB rotated his head back towards the main view screen. "I'd much rather be lonely than be talked to death by _him_."

* * *

X-

**Marcus glanced to the port**, eyeing the Wolfen class fighter on his left. Beyond it was another Arwing flown by Crimson O'Donnell. He panned his gaze to the starboard side, noting that Fara Phoenix and Vivian Hare had fighters in perfect formation at his side. "Epsilon Formation." At his command, Vivian moved above his fighter and Crimson moved beneath, out of visual range.

A voice came over Marcus' personal intercom. "Are we there yet?"

The fox deadpanned. "Tricky, if I knew you were going to nag I wouldn't have let you wiggle into the hold. Believe me, I'd rather I switched out your weight for three more Nova Bombs."

"You'll need my help once we get to the palace!"

"I thought you've never personally been to the palace?"

Tricky paused for a moment then said, "But I've always wanted to see it for myself! Dad sent warriors there; they've been able to see it and now that I'm leader it's not fair that I haven't seen it!"

"Okay, okay… hush. If I let you see what's going on, will you stay quiet?"

"Yeah!"

Marcus swallowed back his growing frustration then pressed two keys on the dash, opening a two-way video display with the hold. "Okay, one sec." He rerouted the camera display screen in the hold to display what the blackbox camera could see on the front of the fighter."

"This screen is awfully small!" Tricky said. "And the color isn't very good!"

"STOP!" Marcus winced at his own outburst then, in a calmer voice, said, "Look, it's mostly for allowing the pilot to see what's in the hold just in case the internal sensors are damaged. I usually don't have anyone in my hold so I don't have a large video display screen down there. Yes, it's small… deal with it. I need to focus."

"Okay, okay, geeze. Don't get all upset and bent out of shape over this."

Marcus muted the audio track and cracked his knuckles. "I swear. How did my father put up with that guy?" He took a moment to calm his nerves then unmuted the channel and focused on flying. The fox licked his lips then said, "Okay, break formation everyone. Let's do a sensor sweep of grid P-1 through Z-25 – everything unseen by the GreatFox. If you find something, we'll meet up at your location. Remember, in atmospheric flight, the Arwing III has a top speed of Mach-7, so if you get too far from the rest of us, we'll be about twenty minutes apart, which means we won't be able to get to you if you come under attack. If you stray too far, well… it's about ninety minutes to get from one side of the planet to the other at that speed. Stay sharp and stay alive. Check in every few minutes. If you find something, do _not_ engage without backup. Understood?"

Every pilot checked in at roughly the same time then the team went in five different directions. Marcus smiled inwardly and said, "Speech over. Good hunting."

Ten minutes passed in relative silence. Marcus occasionally glanced at his instruments but the sensor display remained blank. A small monitor lit up on his dash, followed by a holographic HUD window in the cockpit glass. Vivian's image displayed itself in the canopy. "I have something you should see."

The flat panel monitor in his dash began displaying a sequence of graphs and charts; data flow sequences ran up through the cockpit glass. Marcus lifted then lowered his eyes, lifted them again then glanced back at the screen once more. "What am I looking at, Viv?"

"There's a distortion factor showing up in the sensor readings. When we last visited Sauria, there were certain radiation levels indicative of Kursed's bomb. Those radiation levels are not matching up. In my opinion, that means there might be equipment in the area designed to mess with sensor readings."

"Send those readings to the GreatFox and have ROB analyze the data. I'm going to scan the anomaly and see if I can determine where the false readings are the strongest… then I'm going to set down and explore that area on foot."

"I'll go with you," said Crimson over the channel. "Be there in a few minutes. Then we'll be able to confirm one another's sensor readings before deciding on an L.Z., right?"

"Actually," Vivian cut back in, "I think I've already determined the densest area of the sensor cloud. It's at a temple at the heart of Fang Forest, the thickest rainforest on Sauria. Air support will be minimal at best because the jungle is so thick. The only section of the temple that can be seen from the sky is the center of the roof. The good news is that you can both land on it – just be advised that such a landing will be a rather tight fit."

Marcus typed on a keypad mounted to the left of his knee. "Alright, kids, I've got the coordinates. Crimson and Vivian, meet me in that area. Fara and Bliss, keep patrolling the skies for anything… anything at all. Vivian, you're air support for this one… Red, I hope you're ready to do some jungle hiking. Let's find that temple rooftop clearing and set down on it as soon as possible. Meet'cha there."

"You got it," replied O'Donnell. "I'm ten – seventy-six, boss."

Marcus headed for the location on his onboard chart. An endless expanse of green stretched out across the landscape in all directions. The pilot pulled back on his flight stick then came about in a loop to get a good view from the sky. His eyes zeroed in on a small gap in the lush, endless looking forest and he headed for it. With the press of a few buttons, his Arwing's landing tracks eased from the belly of the fighter.

The fighter set down atop an old temple covered in pollen dust and surrounded by trees two stories higher than the rooftop. Marcus glanced over at Crimson's fighter as it settled adjacently, facing the opposite direction. He could see a plume of steam release from the landing tracks' suspension system.

The canopy eased back on tracks then lifted in the front on a dual joint hinge-track system. McCloud released the hatch door with a press of a button then climbed from his fighter and walked down the fuselage. The canopy whirred shut behind him then clicked into place. Crimson's stabilizers were less than a meter from Marcus' nosecone; McCloud's own stabilizers nearly touching the front of O'Donnell's fighter.

"Well, Mack, they're not perfectly straight but they fit!" Crimson slid down between the fighters and dropped to the dusty temple roof. A cloud of pollen rose up around him causing King Tricky to sneeze as the Earthwalker plodded down the short ramp. O'Donnell turned back to his fighter, opened his cargo hatch and removed two suitcases. He approached his team leader and opened both. In the elongated case was two assault rifles. In the smaller case, there were two blaster pistols. "One each, fully loaded. I've got clips in a bag; I'll get a few for you."

"Good lookin' out, Red."

"Oh, well, you know my obsession with field gear."

"Yeah, I sure know your obsession with inventory on it. Let's find a way inside this place. We're going to have to climb down a tree or something… I don't know what the heck we're going to do for Tricky, here."

"Aw, guys, I'll figure something out," said the dinosaur in his usual boisterous tone. "Don't you guys worry about a thing!"

"Okay, let's keep it down," said Marcus, lowering his voice. "Just to be safe." He turned back to his fighter, reached up into the cargo hatch and pulled his staff from within then closed the hatch door and walked to the west edge of the temple roof. The forest canopy grew up alongside the structure so dense that trees were pressed up against the roofline on all sides. McCloud began walking the perimeter of the temple's top until stopping on the southwest corner. "Lookie."

Crimson and Tricky hurried over and peered down at a gap between the stone and the trees. It appeared to have been caused by an energy weapon. Tricky looked up at both boys then back down at the gap. "I'll never fit through there. I could burn a hole, though."

"Let's not start any forest fires," said Crimson.

Tricky replied with a deadpan. "Don't you know anything about rainforests? There's so much water in the trees and in the air that fires don't burn very well. Besides, Marcus' staff could freeze out the flame!"

The fox smirked. "It's a little overpowered. I might accidentally put a quarter mile of trees into the ice age, then someone would notice."

"Is this a sneaking mission?" asked Crimson.

"Until we know how many enemies we're up against… if any at all… then yes, I want to be quiet." McCloud started to climb down between the roofline and the tree trunks. His shirt caught on twigs and foliage, being lifted halfway up his chest as he wiggled his way down into the gap. Once he got down to where his shoulders were level with the rooftop, he reached up to Crimson. "Staff and a blaster."

Crimson handed him the staff first, which Marcus slid down into his belt loop. He reached back to retrieve the blaster pistol from Crimson when suddenly a strange noise caused both boys to freeze. They looked at one another, then back at Tricky, then back to one another.

"What the hell was that?"

"I don't know, Red. It kinda' sounded like…" Marcus blinked, watching both Crimson and Tricky fall into the roof. They disappeared in an instant and one of the Arwings tilted slightly as a corner section of the roof caved, causing one of the landing tracks to teeter precariously over a gap. The ship slowly creaked back into place, supported by the weight of the fuel cells in the front of the fuselage. "Red? …Red, answer me. …Crimson O'Donnell, respond." Nothing. "Fara, respond."

A moment passed and her voice came over the radio. "Marcus, everything okay?"

"I think Red and Tricky might be injured. The rooftop collapsed in the corner and they fell into the hole." He peered down into the darkness and withdrew a light from his gear. Marcus shined the bright LED torch into the darkness only to see the next several floors down had holes in them, where the floors gave way from the weight of Tricky falling through. "They've fallen several stories and I don't have a visual. I need you to come down here with rappelling gear. Land on GreatFox and use the Instant Transport device. Bliss and Vivian, continue your patrols."

"I'm on my way; stand by."

Next came Vivian and Bliss with a simple acknowledgement. Seconds later, Bliss added, "It's my brother, Marcus. I'd rather be the one to help."

Marcus sighed. "Bliss, we'll bring him back in one piece. If something happened to him, I don't want you finding him injured. That would impair your personal judgment. I'm sorry. Fara is highly qualified for search and rescue missions and she is a qualified field medic due to her survival training. I'm doing what's in his best interest."

Bliss' voice returned to the channel, sounding frustrated. "Fine. Just… What about his fighter? Having two up there is obviously too much weight for that old building. The jungle is so dense, the trees and their roots are probably destabilizing the flipping foundation walls."

"Noted. I promise I'll find him right away. …Marcus to ROB. Lock on to Crimson's Arwing and use the Instant Transport to put it onto the flight deck. Remove mine as well and send me a rigging system, a pulley rig, plenty of rope and a stretcher. I'll also need a barrier fence – three posts should be fine."

"Stand by." ROB paused for a few moments then said, "Incoming." Gear began to materialize on the rooftop. Marcus quickly took the shield barrier fence posts and set up a triangle perimeter around the hole in the palace ceiling. He set to work building the pulley rig, attaching it to the stretcher and feeding the rope into the electric wench. Once everything was ready, he called Fara on his communicator.

"I'll be there momentarily," she said. True to her words, Fara Phoenix appeared on the rooftop seconds later. She patted herself down then made a sour face. "I hate using those things. I don't trust them in the transportation of complex machinery either. God forbid the plasma drive of a starfighter becomes…" she lifted her paws and waved away her own monologue then huffed with indignation. "Sorry. What's the situation?"

"I'm ready to get started. Let's get that stuff set up." He reached for the rappelling gear and they secured everything then Marcus activated the barrier fence posts. A glowing field surrounded them in a triangular shape. A pyramid-like dome covered their work area to protect them from possible areal attacks. "We're ready, let's get down there."

Fara activated the wench, lowering the stretcher down into the hole. It sank into the darkness for several moments. "Geeze… deep hole."

Marcus frowned and closed his teeth over his lower lip. "Yeah." Moments later, the line went slack. "Okay, looks like it hit bottom. Let's go." He gave one last tug on his rappelling anchor, then on the line. After that, he lowered himself into the hole with Fara at his side. They came to the top floor of the temple. Marcus broke a blue flare and put it on the floor then eased into the next hole in the floor and continued to drop to the next level.

Fara opened a green flare and put it aside then the couple continued to the next level down. Marcus put a red flare on that level then they continued down to the fourth floor from the roof. Fara used an orange flare. The two foxes made their way down another level and Marcus opened a yellow flare on that floor. "Good god," he muttered, "How far did they fall?" The pair moved down to a sixth floor, where Fara opened a white flare. Marcus glanced around then inspected the rubble all around them. "It seems this is the one that held. I don't think we're on the ground level yet… and who knows if this place had sub-levels or not. But…where could they be?"

"Don't you sense them?"

McCloud glanced back to the floor in shame. "I'm too emotional. I let myself get all worked up. I need to calm down. I wonder why they weren't answering their communicators?" He nudged the stretcher to the left but there was only more rubble to be found. He took a deep breath and shouted, "CRIMSON! TRICKY!" His voice reverberated off the two ends of the lengthy hallway. No reply.

Fara opened a scanning tool and panned the device from left to right. "No heat signature on the ground… Except right here on the floor. You can even see the outline of how Crimson was lying on the floor. He must have climbed on Tricky's back. Since Tricky is cold blooded there are no heat signature footprints to follow."

Marcus sniffed at the air. "Knowing these Krazoan palaces, most of these hallways probably lead back to lobby-like rooms. We should stay together incase something else happens."

"Marcus!" Fara motioned to a mark on the wall. "Look, it's a crudely scratched arrow."

He approached his girlfriend and held his light up high, facing downwards at an angle above the marking on the wall. "See how there's an 'X' at the end of the arrow? He's the only person I've ever seen who does that. It _has_ to be him. C'mon, sweetheart."

Fara changed settings on her scanning device. "There are particles in the air that interferes with the sensor module. The scanning field is reduced to fifteen feet. It can see through the walls just fine, though, so it's not _totally_ worthless. The good news is that we didn't find them in pieces down here."

"Yeah. I'd have been pretty upset if we got down here and found Crimson flattened beneath Tricky. Can you determine the cause of the interference? Imperial dampening field, maybe?"

"No, nothing that elaborate," she told him with a wan smile, trying not to laugh at his joke about their friends. "There's some sort of unknown particles in the air that create a fog our scanners can't penetrate very well. It's not radiation, though."

Marcus' voice lowered. "That's a relief, at least." He licked his lips and, in a louder tone, asked, "How far do you think they might have gotten by now?"

"It's hard to say. You don't sense them, I can't hear them and neither of us can smell them. What kind of gear did Crimson have on himself?"

"He had a blaster and a phase pistol… probably a barrier shield and, maybe, a grenade or two. I'm not sure what he packed but I know he loves gear… so it's safe to say he's taken _something_ with himself. I'm just… ugh. Why didn't he just wait down here? Surely he knew I would come down and look for him. There's _no_ valid reason to just start exploring." Marcus froze, sensing a thought from Fara then he bit his lower lip again. "You make a good point, hon. If he's not alone down here then he would start moving for one reason or another."

"I'd hate to think there might be hostiles down here," she began. Fara withdrew an assault rifle from her shoulder, attached the scanner atop of the weapon and disengaged the safety. "Especially if you're unable to sense anyone. Calm yourself, relax and see if you can sense them… or anything else for that matter." She pointed the weapon at a forty-five degree angle towards the floor, resting the butt stock against her shoulder with her wrist canted downwards, index finger alongside the trigger guard. "I doubt it, though. I mean… all the Sharpclaw members have been relocated to Venom and there's no sign of Venom soldiers in this vicinity."

Marcus removed his staff from the holster on his back then took a deep breath. He released a slow sigh and relaxed his body. His eyes became half-lidded. His heartbeat slowed. His tail drooped, dragging the floor. He thought about things that his mother taught him recently, various techniques to calm his emotions.

The sensation of a noble and virtuous being appeared to Marcus's mind's eye. "He's okay; uninjured," murmured McCloud. "And… Tricky, too. They were lucky and they're both okay. We won't need the stretcher. They're not alone," he added at the end, followed by, "I sense nervousness and fear from Crimson… I sense determination and stifled worry from Tricky. Wait…" Marcus began breathing in a rhythmic cadence. His eyes snapped fully open again. "I think they perceive that they're being hunted by something." After another moment, he added, "Some_one_, rather."

A communicator rang out, followed by static and garbled speaking. Marcus reached behind himself and smoothed his fluffed tail with a look of embarrassment. "That stays between us, please." He pulled out his communicator's earpiece, wedged it into his right ear then tapped a button on the side with his thumb claw. "McCloud here." After a moment, he said, "Wait, let me put you on speaker for this." He pulled his communicator back out from his pocket and thumbed the button on the side. "Repeat that, would you?"

Vivian's distorted voice came over the speaker. "Guys, I said I found an unknown ship in the jungle near your location. I noticed an energy signature on my instruments and it caused my sensors to act funky. Several trees near your location have been destroyed where this craft landed but I got a few snaps with the high-speed camera… the hull appears intact but I can't get any closer because it's in a thick area of the jungle and I can't fly any lower… look, whatever it is, it looks like bad news. You have to see how this thing looks. I think _sinister_ describes it fairly well."

"Try and attach a good picture and 'local-transfer' it to me."

"Okay, Marcus. Hold tight. Stay safe, guys." Vivian closed the channel on her end. Seconds later, McCloud's communicator vibrated.

He used his thumb pad to operate the capacitive touch screen, bringing up an optic-mail attachment. He used his fingers to manipulate the image on the screen, zooming in as much as he could without making the picture too grainy.

Fara peered over his shoulder at the image then frowned. "I've never seen a ship like _that_ before. Whatever it is, she's right that it looks sinister. All those scythes – the sharp tips of the wings, the sharp curvature of the tail fin and stabilizers… it looks like it was designed to dice through enemy ships and deflect incoming rounds."

"Hold on," said Marcus. He walked back towards the hole in the ceiling and lifted the device up high. "Okay, I'm getting weak reception but… it's enough. One second – I'm going to run this image through the subspace data network. There's a site with a database of ship designs, both fictitious, historical and current…"

A moment later, the screen displayed, "Unknown origin, unknown design!" The message was followed up with an automated advertisement for the online site's services, reading, "The broadest database site in Lylat with over 4.7 _million_ archived ship designs on file! Try another search? Yes or Cancel?"

Marcus clenched his teeth then nodded for Fara to follow him back down the hallway. "You'd think with almost five million selections in their database, they'd have seen something that looks like the picture I submitted. Maybe we just need to have a better picture from a better angle or something."

"I don't know," she said, adding, "I've sure never seen something like that, not even in video games or TV shows. Look close at the image Vivian sent. What's that weird crap along the side? The blurry, shiney part?"

Marcus opened the attachment again and zoomed up on it. "Weird… I can't tell if that's supposed to be part of the ship or if it's a blur from taking the picture at six hundred miles an hour…"

"It's a high speed camera designed to take sharp images at several times the speed of sound, Marcus. Whatever it is we're looking at… it's part of the ship… and it appears almost, well, for lack of a better word… _biological_."

"Slimy," he agreed aloud. "Like it's designed with metallic highlights but crashing through the trees might have injured it… not to say that it's alive per say but… I agree it _is_ strange looking. I'd like to see it close up if we get the chance, later."

"Remember why we came here," Fara said, right paw aloft with her index finger up. "Search and Rescue. Then we need to determine the cause of the sensor blackout in this region, then locate Panther Caruso and his ship. He said something about an invasion force. Let's not get _too_ side tracked. Do you think that thing crashed, or do you think it landed where it did because it wanted to? I mean, the way it's designed, it surely had no problems landing in the middle of a jungle; seems like it could dice its way right through – carve its own runway."

"Very true," Marcus said in a soft tone. "I doubt a tree would have scraped it open even _if_ the thing _was_ partially biological. Okay, let's find Crimson. His nervousness is increasing and Tricky is starting to become frustrated in a way that's disconcerting. …Wait, now I'm sensing aggression from both. C'mon!"

Fara and Marcus hurried down the hall until coming to a large doorway. There was a sliding door that appeared to go into the wall but it was off its track and didn't close all the way. The two foxes maneuvered around the ajar panel then broke into a sprint. They came to a stop in an intersection and Marcus frowned. "Check for more arrows. You take that side, I'll check these two hallways." They checked the area but there were no arrows or other carvings. "Dammit," he groused beneath his breath.

Fara checked the scanner but didn't detect anything of importance. She cocked her head and listened. "They're too far away. Pick a direction."

McCloud sniffed the area then sighed. "Time to guess." He headed straight through the intersection and Fara followed. They picked up their pace. The hallway opened up into a grand hall with rotted benches lined up along one side similar to a church. The benches were horribly warped and gnarled but upon closer examination, the wood was petrified from advanced age.

"Let's keep moving," Fara said. They crossed through the cathedral-like room then Fara stopped and cocked her head again. "Listen."

Marcus did as she suggested and perked his ears. "Nothing…"

"Wait." She closed her eyes briefly, listening intently. Fara nodded in a decisive manner, turned right and led Marcus through the rows of ancient benches to a doorway at the back of the grand hall. "I heard energy weapon discharges. This way, hurry!"

A room with more gnarled furnishings filled the area. On the left, Tricky and Crimson were fighting with fire and blasters, respectively. On the right, an upstanding tri-ped creature had two willowy black hands outstretched. It appeared to fire energy bursts from its palms in an eerily supernatural way. The glowing discharge was absolutely silent until it hit the walls, floor or fossilized furnishings.

"Marcus!" shouted Crimson, "What the hell _is_ this thing?" he exclaimed, trying to shoot back at the creature. "It doesn't appear to have a gender or any personality! It just came in here and started shooting up the place! It killed two LightFoot dinos, back the way I came from! When I shot it with my blaster, it healed the hole I put in its torso!"

Marcus and Fara immediately took cover and kept their heads down. An energy discharge sailed over them and struck the door from which they'd come. Marcus cleared his throat then shouted back, "I hate to suggest it when we've not even had the chance to open dialogue with that thing but… have you tried removing the head?"

The hybrid wolf aimed carefully then blasted an incoming energy round. The ball of light dissipated. "I'll keep it distracted! You wanna' pull a Fancy Dan by shooting out its neck? Be my guest! Thanks for coming to my rescue by the way!"

"How you holding up over there?"

"Oh me? Fine, fine… I just came for the Saurian Brandy. Didn't find any; I think that alien guy drank it all. So… about that headshot… I'll keep him distracted!"

Fara grimaced at Crimson's reply then turned to Marcus and said, "From this far away, love, it'll be a difficult shot. I'll see if I can get closer by crawling along the row of …bench things; whatever they used to be. Ready?"

"Ready," replied McCloud with a weak smile.

"Good… here I go," she murmured then began crawling on all fours through the rows of gnarled, black furniture. Fara maneuvered to a distance within ten feet of the creature and withdrew her rifle then aimed upwards at the neck of the strange creature and fired. The round pierced the alien's throat, separating its head from its shoulders. However, the neck reattached itself before the head could even fall away from the body. The alien redirected its left hand back at her and discharged a glob of energy. The discharge obliterated Fara's fossilized cover and part of her weapon. She abandoned the remains of the rifle without a second thought.

She rolled away, got to her feet and leapt over one of the next benches back then dove over the next several. Another energy round passed nearby her, close enough for her to feel heat. She put her paws on the backrest of another gnarled piece of furniture then bound off of it.

Phoenix hit the marble floor tiles and rolled away to avoid more attacks. She got back to her feet and hurried towards Marcus, who had his staff at the ready and used it to shield them both. She slumped to the floor, favoring her hip where she hit the floor seconds earlier. "I was so close, his energy attacks vaporized my gun and one of those petrified wood structures. Separating its head didn't kill it."

From across the large room, Tricky continued to use his flame breath attack to counter the alien's volley of focused energy rounds. Crimson continued to move evasively, occasionally firing back at the creature regardless of not injuring it.

"Are you okay?" asked Marcus.

"I got away with a bruised hip, a bruised pride and a bruised ego. I'll heal."

"It seems my staff's shield holds off that thing's attacks fairly well. Stay put." He began to walk forward, leaving Fara at the back of the room. Marcus kept the shield bubble around himself, the staff held high as he walked. The alien turned its attention from Crimson and Tricky and focused both hands on Marcus, throwing everything it could at the approaching fox's shield.

The creature balled its black hands into willowy fists. Then it began to speak in a series of clicks and squawks that caused Crimson and Fara to cover their ears. Marcus clenched his teeth together, listening with both his ears and his mind. "I'm not _in_ your way! If you're here because you're hunting the Krazoa woman, then we're on the _same side_. Stop frickin' attacking us; we can help you!" The alien began chattering in an agitated way. Marcus kept his shield up. "How many? There's only _one_ Krazoa woman – we think she's the last of her kind. Is that what your race does? Hunts down other aliens? Were your people responsible for the Krazoa dying off the first time? I know a race of people who hunt telepaths and I've made peace with them. Can't we talk this out?"

Once more, the alien made strange noises, to which Marcus replied, "You're speaking in riddles. If your people didn't kill them off the first time, then what is your concern with the one calling herself Anezka? And why are you attacking us? We're not Krazoan."

After another brief exchange of sound effects, McCloud said, "What prophesy are you speaking of? You call yourselves _locust_? As in the bugs? You didn't answer my question… you _do_ understand me, don't you?" The tri-ped being offered another string of strange alien sounds. Marcus frowned and said, "Apparently you don't have any idea what I'm saying after all, do you? Well… we'll show you a gesture of peace… Crimson, Tricky… stop attacking him. It doesn't seem to hurt him anyway." He paused then said, "See? We're not here to attack you. Same team."

The tri-ped creature drew back a lithe arm then thrust it forward. A force similar to Dahn-Daju (_A/N: Chapter 4, Reflections of Krystal_) threw Marcus back, shield and all. He rolled beneath one of the gnarled benches then got up to one knee with his teeth gritted. "I think I finally understand."

Crimson shouted from across the room. "So, what didja figure out, Mack?"

McCloud used his shielded staff to swat down an incoming energy attack from the alien then called back to his friend. "Did I ever tell you about my dream where I talked to the Oracle, Red? Well, she said there would be some sort of freaky presence that attacks Lylat. She said I'd fend it off and win the day but it would ultimately be my children that put it down for good. I thought it was Anezka… but she's not an alien presence; she's from Lylat. She's something that woke up and needs her tail kicked but… she's certainly no evil cloud of doom. If this guy is calling himself The Locust, then, well… that means more of his people might be coming – Jeeze, this is playing out like a crappy comic book. I'm done fooling around with this thing and we're not going to get any answers from him. I'd rather see what we could learn from his ship."

Again the alien tried attacking Marcus's staff shield. Marcus timed the shots carefully then deactivated his shield and activated its blaster attack, throwing the alien across the room. The powerful beam of light incinerated the rest of Fara's rifle, lying on the floor near the being. It caused the fossilized wooden furnishings to burst into flames. It scorched the floor and ceiling.

When Marcus lowered the staff, the dusty remains of the creature stirred on the scorched tile floor as if attempting to reassemble. Marcus approached it and watched with a manner of interest. He glanced up at the wall across the room, which had a silhouette of the creature etched into the charred surface. The fox lowered his eyes again, watching as the remaining ashes continued to come back together, amassing into a single pile of black powder.

"I still sense very basic thought patterns. But the complex mind of before, the hate and the evil that I sensed… that's gone. I think some measure of this creature is _still_ alive but not enough is left for it to form into anything threatening."

Fara and Crimson hurried over with Tricky moving into a defensive position to keep watch over his friends. Phoenix knelt besides the residue and gathered it into a small sample bag from her medical kit. She closed the red baggie, labeled 'bio-hazard sample', folded it up and put it into a plastic vial then closed the cap. "Okay, let's get this back to the GreatFox for study. We should try and find that ship, too."

Marcus grinned and glanced at his girlfriend. "Remember why we're here," he said, repeating what she'd told him earlier. "Panther Caruso located some sort of strange energy signature and said something about an invasion force. Plus we need to find and ask the Krazoa Spirits how we can stop Anezka." His grin disappeared and his eyes narrowed. "I wonder if he'd run into some of these _things_ – and here we thought he must have meant an invasion force from Venom. Just imagine a fleet of alien creatures that don't easily die? This could make things really… _interesting_ to say the least."

Fara frowned and glanced at Crimson without a word. O'Donnell coughed into his fist then said, "There was no sign of his ship from the sky. Maybe Caruso isn't as bad off as we thought. Heck, for all we know, he might have left the area. Why did we choose the temple again?"

"It was the source of electronic interference that kept us from scanning for Caruso's exact location," Marcus replied. The fox brought his left paw to his muzzle and began to pace pensively. "Dammit. Maybe we should get this alien ship back to Corneria. Whatever it is we stumbled upon might turn out to be really serious. That thing was one nasty bastard, wasn't he?"

"You're telling me!" Crimson folded his arms. "When you were saying that stuff earlier, while fighting it…him… whatever… were you translating what he was saying, or were you telling us what you learned from scanning his thoughts?"

"I'm honestly not sure," said McCloud. "A little of both, I suppose. I really don't want to be fighting an invasion force of those things, though. I'd take recycled Venom military any day of the week."

Phoenix glanced up from her small scanning device. "Boys, according to my handheld scanner, the interference is significantly reduced. I think this area needs more analyzing before we take anything back to Corneria, though. For one, they'll need more evidence and information before they offer to help us… And two, there's a chance they may take over this job if we really are dealing with hostile aliens. So anything we can learn _now_ is in our best interest."

Marcus nodded in agreement. "You're right, Fara. Crimson, I'm going to rearrange the lineup. I'll make the call when I get topside; we're going to need Theodore and Vivian down here working on this. I'll need you and Bliss in the sky looking for Panther and looking for this apparent invasion force. Fara and I will return to the ship and start studying the remains we collected. Vivian will start right away and I want you to help her until Theodore arrives."

Fara rubbed her chin for a moment then asked, "Did you sneak up on this alien or did _he_ find _you_, Crimson?"

"Just _Red_," said Crimson to Fara. "The alien stepped out of thin air. Cloaking technology, maybe?"

"Maybe," said Marcus in reply. "I sure didn't see that sort of technology on him, though. He was just… skin and bones."

Fara glanced back at her handheld scanner again and took a moment to sweep the area. "Hmm, I don't see any residue of any energy patterns; perhaps they can cloak their energy signature, as well? Wait a second…"

Marcus, Crimson and Tricky turned to look at the vixen fennec. The dinosaur was the first to speak. "What is it? What didja find, Fara, huh? Huh? Tell us!"

"Gravity displacements."

"Say what?" Crimson tilted his head. Marcus sensed what she was going to tell them and frowned.

Fara scratched the side of her head then shrugged. "Neutrino and temporary increased gravity. That's the sort of thing you would find when coming near a blackhole or recently collapsed star – but this is on a far smaller level; there's obviously no black holes in this room."

"Which, if you ask me, is a total relief," said Red.

Fara passed her scanner to Crimson. "I don't see anything else at all. I did a paper in college about cloaking mines, which people called 'Houdinis'. I would hate to walk into one."

O'Donnell stared at her for a moment then shook his head. "That's a pretty bold theory, let's hope you're wrong. Okay, I'll stick it out with Vivian while you two go up to the ship and work on what we found so far. I'll catch a ride back with Vivian's fighter. We'll finish exploring this temple _then_ go out to the jungle and look for whatever the guy's fighter jet looked like. I don't exactly trust a handheld scanning device to rule out everything and I don't wanna miss anything…"

"We have a lot of tests to run," Fara admitted. "Let's get to work."

x-

* * *

**The black creature** tilted its head, watching as several of the furred beings left the temple. It took a step forward and disappeared then reappeared by the far wall, which was scorched from a weapon blast of seemingly untold power. The creature lifted its left hand and held its palm over the surface of the wall. A soft glow illuminated its palm, scanning the stone surface.

After a moment, the faceless creature turned and stepped back into subspace then reappeared fifty meters away, only to blink back into subspace again. After another step, it disappeared once more, appearing at the end of the next hallway. The creature glanced about itself in the intersection, chose a direction then stepped forward, disappearing back into the umbra of subspace yet again. After several moments of fast travel in this manner, it appeared at the bottom of an air duct leading to the surface. With velociraptor-like talons on its feet, the creature began walking up the vertical surface, once more disappearing. It reappeared from subspace at the top of the well, climbed over the lip then leapt down with grace, passing through the canopy of trees.

The faceless being sprinted through the jungle. It passed completely through several large trees by disappearing back into subspace and reappearing on the other side of the tree trunks. It came to a stop in front of a downed fighter belonging to the fellow alien who was destroyed earlier by the grayish-blue furred mammal. The being circled it, inspecting for damage then approached the fighter only to stiffen up at the sight of the fighter beginning to dematerialize.

The ship vanished all together, leaving the confused creature to check the impression in the soil where it had rested moments earlier. The alien lifted its head to the sky then held its right hand aloft as if reaching for the heavens. A soft glowing light emanated from its palm once more…

x-

* * *

**"…What the hell?"** Marcus turned to Fara then glanced back at the strange alien craft sitting on the flight deck. "Temporary power drain? Could it have been from using the instant transporters to beam such a heavy vessel such a long distance?"

"I doubt it," Fara replied. She flipped open her personal communicator and opened a channel to the bridge. "ROB, can you determine what caused the lights to flicker just now?"

"Stand by," came the monotone voice on the other end. After a few seconds, ROB said, "Sorry for my delay – I experienced a temporary fluctuation of power. Hmm, let's see, shall we? Ah yes, according to the ship's sensors, the entire GreatFox experienced a similar fluctuation just now. I believe some sort of scanning device probed us but I cannot determine the origin. It lasted only two seconds and came from _somewhere_ on the planet. Stand by again… hmm… hmm, processing… Secondary and tertiary scans suggest it came from where the alien ship had been transported in the jungle but it is unclear what could have caused the energy probe that scanned us. Be advised the scans did not seem to have any effect on the Arwing fighters aboard this ship because they have ablative armor with a monoloy alloy. The technology is far newer than the polarized hull plating of the GreatFox. The Landmasters, however, are quite susceptible to the strange side effect of the electronic interfering probe. Furthermore…!"

"We get the point." Fara closed the channel and rolled her eyes. "Geeze. Remember when we found him in the Ready Room adjacent to the bridge when this ship was sitting on Sauria, overgrown with moss, ivy and mold?"

"A lot less talkative back then, wasn't he?" replied Marcus with a grin. He cleared his throat then said, "I wonder what probed us? If it came from where we beamed the alien fighter, it could be the pilot… then again, I'm pretty sure I vaporized that guy in the temple. Unless of course I zapped the _copilot_."

Crimson O'Donnell's voice came over the communicator in McCloud's back pocket. He took his earpiece out of his other pocket, stuffed it into his ear and said, "Yeah, what's up, Red?"

Over the line, Crimson replied, "We found Caruso's crash site and we found Caruso. He's okay. His ship needs some repairs before it'll fly again; it's leaking fuel cells in liquid form. We shouldn't try transporting it because that stuff is highly unstable when a cell is turned to liquid."

"What could even turn a fuel cell into liquid?"

"Plasma fire would work… if you can get it hot enough, the cell will melt but the boiling point is so damn high that it would take one heck of a weapon to do it. Panther says he was shot down by a strange black fighter with sharp edges. In a last ditch effort, he rammed the ship and sent it spiraling into the jungle three hundred kilometers away. That must have been the one that you guys found and sent up to the GreatFox. He said the enemy ship was messing with his sensors, making it difficult to dogfight. He was happy to hear you wasted the pilot. Look, I think Bliss and I can repair the damage and Vivian seems to be okay back at the temple."

"Weren't you supposed to stick with Vivian, anyhow?"

Red chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I guess I disobeyed an order, huh? It's my sister, man. She doesn't exactly feel comfortable around that perverted old coot. Y'know how it is. I'm not her best friend or anything but I'll look out for her and I don't exactly trust Panther Caruso."

Marcus licked her lips then rubbed his face. "Red, it's fine. How about you send Bliss back to help Vivian? You do whatever it is you need to do to stabilize the damage to Caruso's ruptured fuel cell tank then we can transport it up here via the instant transmission device. I'll make some room on the flight deck. Good work finding Caruso. Get his ship back online soon so we can look at the blackbox flight log. I wanna see what it is that we're up against and how these things fly."

"You got it." Red closed the channel from his end.

Marcus took out his earpiece and stuffed it back into one of his pockets. "So… the alien space craft. I think we left off with me pondering whether or not I zapped the pilot or if there's still someone down on the planet's surface… someone who may have probed us, possibly causing our lights to flicker. Thoughts?"

Fara turned back to the craft and folded her arms. "You know, I'd rather be snuggled up watching the holo-vision with you right now. And here I used to pride myself on my work ethic. You're having an effect on me, McCloud."

Marcus slid a paw into his pocket and pushed a finger into his wallet, brushing his index claw against the engagement ring he planned on giving to her soon. "I like affecting you, Fara. Maybe we should take things to the next level."

She grinned back at him. "I'd like that."

Marcus started pushing his finger further into the wallet to dig out the ring.

Phoenix glanced back at the black fighter again, keeping her arms folded. "But let's save the romance for later. Maybe dinner and a movie when we find Caruso and get all our ducks in a row. Somehow I have to wonder if there are more of those aliens and if they _do_ have anything to do with your dream from last year… and just how much they have to do with that crazy half-Krazoan chick, Anezka. But I promise our romantic rain check will be worth the wait."

Marcus pushed the ring back down to the deepest part of his wallet again and smiled. "_You_'re worth the wait. We can talk romance later, like you said. So… first thing's first… does it have a cockpit? And if so, how the heck do we open it?"

Fara tapped her chin for a moment then snapped her fingers. "Blowtorch."

A grin tugged at the corner of Marcus' muzzle. "Girl, I like the way you think. Let's crack that thing open. I'll get the tools while you look this thing over and determine the best place to start cutting."

The fennec vixen began leering at the fighter. "You got it," she replied, rubbing her paws together in a playful way.

x-

* * *

A/N: _YAY, twenty-seven chapters down! I think we should expect more romance AND combat in the next chapter! Finally! Back to the action, right? So, is it time for Marcus to pop the question to Fara? _


	28. Marcus and Fara

A/N: _I'm going to take a little break from this story and finish The Curse. I won't be gone terribly long. This will allow me to attack this new Reflections of Marcus enemy the proper way. The Curse, Reflections of Regret, Detente and Reflections of StarFox have been waiting for my return. I have so much work to do! _

* * *

Chapter -28-  
"Marcus and Fara"

**"Mayhaps it is time to fall back and formulate a game plan."** Panther Caruso removed the white gloves from his paws, folded them and put them into a pocket on his flight suit. He reached behind himself and unfastened it then shrugged off the torso plate. "There are certainly _more_ than one of these things out there," said the feline, unable to take his eyes off of the black alien fighter sitting silently on the flight deck. "When I said an invasion force, I meant it. They put the Aparoids to shame. In the humble opinion of this cat, Lylat's past trials against Andross, the Aparoids as well as the Anglars… they were all merely a test of this system's character by comparison to what we'll be facing when this invasion force shows itself again."

Fara and Marcus exchanged glances then turned back towards Caruso. Fara lowered her ears and said, "We've only seen one ship. Where did you see this fleet?"

"It was more of a scouting force, approximately twelve large ships and fifteen fighters, including this one," he explained with a nod towards the fighter. "We should recall your amphibian friend and his father… and have them rip out the cloaking device and study it… perhaps even replicate it so we know what we're up against. Panther was barely victorious in battle, downing this _thing_. One cannot even CALL it a ship! It bled! The fighter… it bled. And internal sensors didn't register it as an enemy fighter… it displayed as an organic creature with metal plating."

Marcus brought his paw up to his forehead. "Okay, okay… we'll figure it out soon enough. There's so much going on right now it's hard to think. We've got Venom drama, we've got a reptile fleet that is on our side against Venom but they're so racist that they don't even want anything to do with us. We've got freaky aliens showing up and we have a half-breed Krazoan woman dictator. Does that about cover all the basics?"

Fara offered her mate a lame grin. "And we have an exhausted Venom population, a wounded Cornerian population and a group of young mercenaries trying to fix everyone's problems before the elderly mercenaries can figure out what's going on. Maybe Panther is right. We should step back and look at everything to see if we can't focus on the bigger picture."

"See? She agrees with Panther, youngling."

"Youngling?" Marcus furrowed his brows, not bothering to glance back at Caruso. "I should ship your tail over to my father's vessel but I don't want you anywhere near my mother. Maybe I'll send you back to Corneria instead… how's that sound?"

"Panther is not a prisoner," snorted the large black-furred feline. "Your impudence is rather…"

"Shut up." Marcus turned back to Fara and shrugged. "So, if there was some way to contact Darius or have another vision of the Oracle… that would be my first option. For now, I think we'll regroup and go watch some Holo-Vision together… just you and me under the covers. What'dya say to that?"

"Perfect." Fara rubbed the side of her nose with her paw then cut her eyes towards Caruso. "Make yourself useful. The soap and wax are in a locker on the port side bulkhead. Get to work."

Panther snorted. "Panther shall find himself some guest quarters."

Marcus and Fara started walking off the flight deck together. "I'll have ROB recall everyone for the night. Then we'll go and pick up Theodore so he and Vivian can start working on this alien ship." His communicator chirped in his pocket. Marcus withdrew the device and flipped open the lid then read a notification tag on the screen. "Hmm, looks like we'll have to rendezvous with my father. Slippy sent me a message; he thinks he fixed the dampener add-on for my staff. He seems confident that it will fix the heating and power consumption issue from before. It'll be safer to use, now."

"Good, that makes me feel better about you using that thing." Fara slid her paw into McCloud's back pocket as they walked together. "I'm finally starting to get used to the peripatetic lifestyle of a StarFox mercenary. It won't be easy on the baby, though." The doors slid shut behind them with a thump.

Out on the flight deck, Panther Caruso folded his arms. "So… the daughter of Zerda Phoenix shall become a mother soon. Interesting." He stared at the doors leading out of the flight deck for another moment then glanced back at the locker on the portside bulkhead. "Wash and wax their fighters… how presumptuous of her to make such a suggestion. Hmm, I wonder how Father Fox would react to this news."

A voice came from above. "Dude, don't be a dick and go around starting drama like that. Seriously."

Panther glanced up and smirked at Crimson O'Donnell on a catwalk. "I see the acoustics in this flight deck are quite good for listening in on quiet conversations."

Red lifted his paw and pointed up. "It's the multiple small dome-shaped sections in the ceiling. It's meant to dampen the sound of the main guns firing above us, while deflecting sound back down into the flight deck. It's angled so that when a fighter blasts off, the sound is deflected straight back to the deck instead of back towards the flight crew at the back of the room."

"Mm, the lesson is unnecessary. Panther does not wish to build a venue stage here on the flight deck. Were you trying to change the subject?"

"Look, old man, Krystal McCloud is telepathic. So I'm sure Fox already knows. The fact you plan on bringing it up to him is lame. It's your way of trying to start drama. No wonder Marcus' mother dumped you _twice_. Oh, and speaking of Marcus… he's a pretty keen businessman. We saved your tail and now we're providing transportation until your fighter is flight-worthy. Expect to receive a bill. Or! You can help out around here. Start by going to that locker on the portside bulkhead. And don't forget to use _two_ coats of wax. I'll call my father to come and pick you up. Oh, and stay away from my sister. She can't stand you." Crimson casually strolled off the catwalk with a smirk and entered a maintenance junction labeled "_Engineering_."

Caruso ground his teeth together and glanced back at the locker across the way with, '_Cleaning supplies_' stenciled across the front. "Ignorant children," he groused.

* * *

x-

**Marcus gestured for Fara** to enter their quarters first. He followed her in and turned on the lights. "Look, hon, there's something I've wanted to give you and we've been busy… lot of things going on and all that. But…" he stuffed his paw into his pocket and used his finger to dig the ring out of his wallet. "I'm not really good with words. I'm not really the kind of guy who goes out and buys a card or hires a poet to write something for me… I would rather show you something than to tell you something, you know?"

Fara turned about, paws on her hips, with a sly grin. "Okay, McCloud. What's going on in that boyish head of yours? This isn't about the pregnancy is it? I don't really need anything beyond a good foot rub." She paused then the grin returned to her svelte muzzle. "Although you _could_ say, '_Big, Dumb and Foxy reporting for booty!_' and salute me. But… I suppose just a foot rub would be sufficient."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, you know you can count on me for that." He withdrew his paw from his pocket, keeping the ring between his thumb and his palm. "No, I didn't go out and get you something for the pregnancy." He approached her until they were rather close to one another. "I'm honored that you wear the necklace I gave you. The stone in it is from Cerinia, a world I've never even seen before, yet it's apart of me. And now it's apart of you. A little piece of Cerinia is growing inside of you. One day that necklace will become a family heirloom to be passed on but that's no reason you shouldn't be able to have a piece of Cerinia… a piece of me… for yourself to have and to hold for the rest of your life, right? And that's sorta what I'm trying to say here – something for us that is symbolic and signifies our desire to have and to hold one another.

"Fara, when I first met you, I was a boy by comparison. I couldn't rub two credits together, I couldn't afford fighters or repairs to this ship… and you came along and helped me. You got into a fist fight with some junkyard dogs just to get parts that would get my ship off the ground soon enough that we could get moving without delay. You've always been there to make sure I succeed and, thanks to you, I feel like I'm successful. They always say behind every great man is a greater woman and, I mean… I really want you to be the woman behind me. Does that make sense?"

Fara slid her paws around his waist and pulled him forward until they were pressed together, chest to chest. She lifted her head and whispered into his ear. "Yes."

Overcome with emotion, Marcus struggled to sense the meaning behind what he thought she might have been alluding to. "Yes?"

"Is that a ring behind your back, or are you just happy to see me?" She paused for dramatic effect then added, "I said _yes_. Now let's see it – not to sound greedy but, c'mon… it _is_ an engagement ring, isn't it?" She spoke calm and slow as if wording her thoughts carefully, "I'm a woman, so, obviously, I'm _dying_ to see it."

Marcus smiled brightly and felt confident now that he was back in control of the situation. Despite the emotional block he set for himself, he could plainly sense the excitement she bottled. She wanted desperately to see what her engagement ring would look like. Her heart was racing and she was practically sweating despite the outward appearance of calm. He brought his paws from behind his back and snatched her left paw, keeping close to her so that she couldn't look down. "Let me ask the question anyhow. This is the fun part, after all." He kept his paws overtop of her left then lowered to one knee. "Fara Marie Phoenix, will you accept my hand in marriage?"

She nodded quietly, licked her lips then in an almost shy, dulcet tone, she said, "Yes." The sudden coyness of her voice was sexy and submissive to his masculine ego.

He took her left paw in his left paw then took the ring in his right and turned it over so that the jewel mount was facing upwards. Carefully, he eased the symbolic article of his affection up to her first knuckle then he pulled her paw to his lips and kissed where the ring rested on her paw. "Nothing would make me happier than to be your husband. You'll make the most beautiful bride in Lylat and I can't wait to see you in a wedding dress."

Phoenix reached down, took his shirt collar and tugged. He stood and she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his in a kiss of gratification and love. Marcus slid his arms around her waist and lifted her up then pivoted on his heel. They spun about the living room area of his quarters together. Her feet knocked over a potted plant by the wall, spilling soil on the floor. Together they dropped to the sofa with her half-splayed across his lap, her legs out across the couch.

She looked up into his eyes and in the most feminine voice she could offer, she said, "Tell me you love me. Tell me how you love me as much as I love you."

"I love you," he said. "I love you and I adore you. I've never felt this way about anyone before. When I heard about feelings like this in a book, I thought the writer was simply overdramatizing romance for the sake of the female readers… but now I know what it truly feels like to experience love like this."

They held one another on the sofa. "Marcus, does your culture have some sort of tradition where the bride and groom share their thoughts and minds with one another or something?"

"Actually, no," he replied. "There's no need for a telepathic bonding because both sides are already able to read each other's thoughts… but if you want to start our own tradition, I would love to share everything with you so that you know my true feelings and so you're able to sense my every thought. It's a very personal thing… but I would be honored to share myself with you like that."

"I want to know you that intimately. I want to experience everything. I always imagined that telepathic people might somehow have some sort of bonding or sharing of the minds or something. I know… my imagination running wild… but if you're willing to try it… I think it would be amazing."

"Did you want to do it now? Is that okay with you?" he asked. He saw her nod and smiled at the vixen. Marcus placed his paws on either side of her head. "Now cup my head with your paws in the same way." He waited until her paws were in the right position then he closed his eyes, prompting her to close her own.

Silence filled the room. Marcus began to focus on relaxing. He thought a single word. '_Fara?_'

Her throat fluttered from the action of swallowing. She heard his voice in her mind and thought the words, '_I heard you; can you hear me?'_

'_Yes, love. Now relax yourself completely. You'll see images and if you're completely relaxed, you'll understand them the way I do… you'll see them for the first time but already know their meaning. But you have to stay as relaxed as you can or they'll just be meaningless images.'_

_'I understand,_' she thought in reply. She cleared her mind and felt a sensation of wonder as images filled her mind. Every image that she experienced had an unspoken meaning behind it, as though she lived it. Silence filled the room.

* * *

x-

**Panther Caruso looked up** from the soapy water bucket. The cargo bay doors began to open. The environmental containment field fluttered with illumination from the change in pressure against one side of the flat beam. Lights flashed on the far end of the flight deck.

A shuttle passed through the field and settled down adjacently to the freshly waxed Arwings. The feline perked, seeing a blue figure in the cockpit. The rear hatch door opened, creating a ramp to the deck. Slippy Toad and Krystal McCloud disembarked together.

McCloud tilted her head and approached Caruso. "Well, well… if it isn't The Ex. Still hanging around, are you?"

"I've crossed the path of a new race while on Sauria. These creatures are an interesting sort to say the least." He motioned to the black fighter behind the Arwings. "What brings you both here?"

Slippy Toad adjusted his ball cap. "I'm installing an upgrade on Marcus' staff," said the frog.

"I'm here to visit my son," replied Krystal, adding, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"With my fighter damaged, I was offered passage to the next sector. Rumor has it that Lylat may be faced with a new threat. These creatures come from The Great Void if ROB translated the data from their ship's computer correctly."

"That's just silly," said Slippy. "Nobody comes from The Void. If there was a planet or any sort of life sustaining system in that expanse, then it wouldn't be much of a void, now would it?"

Krystal brought a paw to her chin. "Scientists said there's nothing out there except Theta Radiation. Unless these aliens figured out how to cloak an entire star system, Slippy is correct when he says your theory is just silly. Two hundred light years of pitch black nothingness, Panther. Some say that there's some sort of dampening field that naturally occurs out there… that's why all Cornerian probes disappear when sent into that region – they lose power."

"Krystal," Slippy said with a frown. "That's just a rumor. There's no evidence to support a naturally occurring 'dampening field' and, uh, furthermore, there's nothing out there to _cause_ such a thing. It's just empty. No star systems, no planets… no forces of gravity. Just nothing. Empty space for two hundred light years."

Panther glanced at Krystal then back at Slippy. "Then why does Corneria keep losing exploration probes in that region?"

Slippy laughed, placing his hand on the backside of his head. "Well, that seems obvious if you think about it. With no stars to chart, a probe – which has a limited navigational system – is unable to chart a return course. So it simply gets lost. With no natural gravity, nothing can fall into a natural orbit… so sending out subspace buoys is also a waste of time. There's no way to keep track of their location and there's no way to anchor them in place, so you can't set up a reliable network. Every sailor's worst nightmare. You would need a high-power astrometric lab with unrealistically powerful sensors to determine your location in order to properly chart a course through that thing. So! Where's Marcus? I have the upgrade ready for his staff!"

"He's in his quarters with his fiancée. Have either of you seen a ship like the one we've found?"

Krystal and Slippy walked by the feline, between two Arwings and came before the sleek black fighter. Toad folded his arms. "Looks menacing. What's the team doing with it?"

Caruso shrugged. "I assume they will turn it over to Cornerian authorities to study it. But these ships are quite numerous. I saw a great deal of these ships. More than a simple squadron. They cloaked themselves in a way that made it impossible to track. I couldn't even detect a power signature in the vicinity. If they do come from The Void, they'll be difficult to attack."

Krystal frowned. "He's right, Slippy. We would be lost and unable to go on an offensive if a situation developed similar to the Anglar invasion. StarFox wouldn't be able to mount an assault unless we found a way to track them." She glanced back at Panther and told him, "If this new alien ship really does come from The Void, then it has a way to navigate that region of space. By studying the navigational computer and the sensor system, we'll adapt if we need to go out there."

A fourth voice joined the conversation. "It's looking like a possibility." Vivian approached Krystal and hugged her then Slippy. "Crimson just had a conversation with Bill Grey and I heard both sides – I was there for the whole thing. Bill wants to know if we can dismantle the alien ship's Slipstream propulsion engines and rebuild them for use with the GreatFox. Theodore and I think that the engines cause the ship to go out of phase with normal space, allowing it to travel in the umbra layer between normal space and theoretical subspace. In laymen's terms, if you had a vehicle that traveled on a planet's surface and a vehicle that traveled through the planet's core, then we're talking about a vehicle that is specifically designed to travel through a planet's mantle. But because we have no way to verify such things, we don't know if there is a mantle layer just yet. It's all theoretical."

"This is a little over my head," Panther murmured.

Slippy waved his hand from left to right in a strange pattern. "Let's say a piece of string represents linear space. What looks like a straight line to us may actually be a piece of string, which goes up, down, spirals about and swirls all over the place between point A and point B. A slipstream drive would theoretically take a ship from point A to point B, the front of the string to the end of the string, by folding space. Then we could travel a straight line and circumvent the winding road of string that we call 'Linear Space.' Does _that_ make sense?"

"Oddly it does," replied the feline. "But theory isn't reality until it's proven. We have no idea if that sort of thing is true or not."

Slippy shrugged and turned to Krystal. "I don't think he understands."

Before Krystal could reply, Panther ground his teeth together and said, "If you removed all the water on a planet and walked the sea bed, it would take a great amount of time because you'd be crossing mountains and chasms. But we simply sail a boat on level water and cross the ocean. It's the same theory – I get it. Don't insult my intelligence. What you're talking about is linear space and a theory that has never been proven. Scientists have large imaginations. Some say that the layer beneath linear space is fluidic. Some say it's a void, some say it's energy, some say it's made of layers like the membrane of a cell but on a larger level. Has any of that nonsense been proven? No. The closest we've come has been through the construction of Beltino Toad's jumpgates. It's akin to building a catapult to sail over a river instead of building a bridge to cross the river in a conventional manner. I'm simply saying I'm not exactly sure that Slipstream and Transdimensional jump drives are in the realm of possibility. I agree that faster-than-light travel exists, but I am not quite so sure about circumventing linear space all together. What I _do_ know is that I've seen a _lot_ of these alien ships. And I know cloaking technology is realistic. So it stands to reason that if this ship _did_ come from The Void, maybe the rest of the race has developed the means to cloak their system by erecting a barrier that obfuscates them from being seen. Until there's a way to measure gravity out there, we'll never know. If there _is_ a dampening field, we won't be able to measure any such thing conventionally."

Slippy and Krystal glanced at one another. Krystal frowned apologetically. "He's a good fighter pilot and he's got sharp eyes but he's a bit of a windbag. He likes to hear the sound of his own voice. Let's go speak to my son, shall we?"

As the two walked off the flight deck, Panther could overhear Slippy's reply to Krystal McCloud. "I'm actually halfway impressed. At least he's smart enough to grasp the concept of The Void. I really didn't even expect _that_ much. I think he was trying to _sound_ intelligent because he somehow wants to try and impress you."

"As if," she murmured. The doors shut behind the couple. Panther turned about and kicked the bucket of soapy water. It splashed across the deck with a cacophony of noise.

* * *

x-

**Slippy placed the **staff back on the coffee table and looked up at Krystal. "W-w-well, it's finished. Marcus and Fara still busy?"

Krystal glanced towards the bedroom door and nodded. "He is. They're sharing an intimate moment. Something I did with his father but he's being a great deal more… shall we say… _open_. He's letting her see everything without reservation. His relationship with Violet, the passing of Peppy… _everything_. I was a great deal more reserved with Fox. I didn't want to worry him with my past relationships, the loss of Cerinia… I didn't want him to experience a guilt trip by allowing him to relive my hurt after our break up. So I withheld a great deal of things from him for the sake of hastening the repair of our relationship. I'm glad Marcus is so openminded."

"Well, he's your son, Krystal. And you're very openminded, after all."

"Indeed he is," she replied with a nod. "But to have intimate comprehension of Fara's relationship with Fox, to learn of her classified life as a tactical stealth operative… to see ways she has snapped the necks of enemies and…" Krystal trailed off and turned back towards Slippy. "A girl has to have _some_ secrets. I know that sounds strange coming from me because I grew up in a culture where that sort of thing was impossible but I've adapted to life here. And Fara has lived here all along. So has Marcus. For them to be so open and so sharing and so trusting and open minded. It's very impressive. I'm proud of them."

"You don't think they'll come out of that joining with daggers in their eyes for one another, do you?"

Krystal pondered Slippy's question for a moment then frowned. "I can't imagine it will be easy at first. The natural thing for them both would be to struggle with all they've learned. But if they're mature and if their love is true… they'll get over it and have a better understanding of one another in the end."

"I remember feeling awkward when I learned that Amanda used to be popular with guys back in college. I only had one girlfriend before I met her so I struggled with jealousy and I constantly q-q-questioned myself – was I good enough for her? Did I make her happy? But she helped my self-esteem by telling me that I was the most genuine person she's ever dated. She told me that I learned better than her past lovers. That many of them did things their way and she wasn't able to enjoy things… but with me I listened to her suggestions and in the end I was able to better please her than anyone else. So… I got over it. By the time I proposed to her I was a far more confident person than I had been in my past."

"I noticed," said Krystal with a grin. "When I met up with the team during the Anglar occupation, I immediately noticed that you were no longer a boy – that you had become a man. I remember thinking that I wished Fox could have grown up the same way. But he eventually did, and we've been happy ever since."

The amphibian picked at his shirt. "Whatever happened on top the Krazoa palace that day?"

She smiled at the frog's apprehensive body language. "You're not prying, I really don't mind that you're asking, Slippy. So… you're talking about the day he got his memories back, right?" (_A/N: Reflections of Regret_) She offered a mysterious smile. "He grew up. We've been happy ever since. Don't get me wrong – we weren't without our occasional arguments but… with passionate people, anger can become just as heated as intimacy. And we've always ended our epic differences of opinion amicably in the end."

"I never thought you guys would argue. I mean, you're telepathic, Krystal. You can see his side of things, so you should be able to defuse things diplomatically."

She grinned with a hint of embarrassment on her maw. "I was stubborn, Slippy. Of course I would sense his side of things, but if I opposed his idea on something, I would tell him so. Sometimes I was downright unfair – he would think something but keep the sentiment to himself… and I would pick a fight because I didn't like the thought. So then he would argue, and I would go off on him full force. Then we would shout at one another. Then we would agree to disagree and have passionate make-up sessions. Sometimes, I think we would start arguments with one another _just_ to have the makeup moments because we programmed ourselves. And what can I say? The makeup sessions were always _really_ good."

"Oh my." Slippy rubbed his face. "If I were warm blooded, I'd probably be blushing right now."

"Sorry, I know a young lady is classy and reserves her words but… I'm a grandmother now, Slippy. I guess I don't hold things back in my older age. Speaking of my grandchild, have you seen little James lately? His summer coat colors are coming in; it's so cute."

"You're awfully wound up and chatty today. You weren't like this on the shuttle, earlier."

A delighted laugh spilled from her lips. "Oh, Slippy, I know… I think I'm drawing from the positive energy in the next room. So I'm in a silly, energetic mood. You know?"

"S-sure, I understand. Hey, now that the staff upgrade is finished, I'm going to head up to the bridge. I understand that Theodore just got back and I want to see him."

"I suppose the prudent thing to do would be to go with you since Marcus is busy but…" She dropped onto a sofa. "He's telling me, now, that he'll only be another moment and to wait up. So… I'll catch up with you, okay? Besides, Theodore really needs to talk to you."

"He does?"

"Well, I sense that he does, so… yes. Something about technology and non-Imperial lizards. See you soon." She watched Slippy head out of the living room then she folded her paws and closed her eyes. "Where in Lylat did you learn how to treat a lady like that? Fara's certainly a lucky girl." Another grin found her maw. "Certainly not your father, he was always too reserved to wear his heart on his sleeve by the time you were born. …Oh aren't _you_ just a Casanova. You're even better than Panther… well, yes, I know it's because you're sincere with what you say to her." Krystal brought a paw to her lips, not having meant to hold her end of the telepathic dialogue aloud. After a moment of silence she chuckled with a slight shake of the head.

The bedroom door opened and Marcus emerged with Fara behind him. "Hey, mom," he said in a casual air.

"Well, well… long time no see, Miss McCloud," said Fara with a grin. "Is your team ready to throw in the towel yet?"

"No, kids… we're not about to capitulate… although I'm curious about that black fighter on the flight deck. We've not seen anything like that. What's going on and why is Panther here?"

"He needed a ride, ma." Marcus reached for Fara's left paw and brought her to the sofa then lifted his fiancée's forearm. "No rush in telling dad; I might tell him myself but… I wanted you to be the first to know it's official."

Krystal leaned forward and examined the ring with an effeminate reaction of bringing her right paw to her bosom. "Oh, Marcus… is that a Cerinian jewel?" She glanced at her son with a proud grin then cut her gaze to Fara. "Well it's close enough for me… welcome to the family, daughter-to-be."

Fara leaned forward and the two women embraced. "It really means a lot to have your blessing. To have your support."

Krystal perked then relinquished the hug and moved around the coffee table to get closer. She lowered to one knee and placed the side of her face against Fara's belly. The fennec paused, not sure of what to expect at first. Krystal remained still, face against the other vixen's belly. The azure-furred vixen moved back to the sofa and clasped her paws together. "Have you told her yet, Marcus?"

He tilted his head. "Wait… you can already tell the gender? I can't do that, how can you sense that?"

Krystal, still in a playful mood, moved towards Fara again, sniffed at the air, licked her index finger and held it up, and then nodded decisively. "Yes, I'm sure. Do you want to know?"

"Oh, well I mean…"

Fara reached over and used her paw to quiet Marcus. "I'd _love_ to know."

"It's a boy." Krystal sensed Fara's initial reaction faster than Marcus and smiled in unison to Phoenix. "Exactly what you wanted, hmm? Well, I'm glad I was able to give you good news."

Marcus rubbed his forehead. "Seriously, though. You licked your finger, sniffed my fiancée and listened to her belly… and you know it's a boy?" He tried probing his mother's mind but couldn't figure out the secret. "Could our people really do that sort of thing?"

Krystal glanced at her son, blocked his access to her thoughts and leaned forward again. She whispered in Fara's ear and both women erupted in a fit of giggles. She stood up, Fara joined her and the two hugged. "I can't stay long, you two. But it was an absolute joy to be the first to know about your engagement. Let me know when you finally decide on a date. I'll go find Slippy." She turned to her son and hugged him then said, "If you need help with those new aliens… please. Please don't get in over your head. You have a family to protect, now. Remember that."

"I will, I will." He embraced his mother and they kissed. "Give dad my love. When you think he's in the most receptive mood, let me know and I'll call him, or… if you decide it might be better coming from you, then have him call me after you tell him. Also, say hey to Falco."

"I will, sweetheart. I love you."

"I love you, too." They shared another kiss then embraced.

Krystal drew back then hugged Fara and kissed her the way she would have kissed a daughter. She whispered into the younger female's ear again, and then she winked at the fennec. Both chuckled in a knowing way then Krystal left the room.

Marcus folded his arms and turned to his betrothed. "Okay, she told you the secret and you were both highly amused. Spill the beans. What was the secret? I mean, she licked her finger, sniffed the air and listened to your belly. The baby is a grain of rice… there's no brain, there's no telepathic bonding yet. What gives?"

The lithe vixen snickered softly. "Oh, god it's killing you because you can read minds but she still managed to trick you. It's really killing you, isn't it?"

"It's not a trick; I sense that she really does know the gender. How can she be so sure?"

Fara cupped his face in her palms. "She had a visit from the Oracle. Since I'm the spoiler queen, I want to know everything about my future children. So your mother told me. The first will be a boy, the second will be a girl."

Marcus rubbed his eyes then placed his paws on Fara's hips. "We're going to have a couple, huh? Did she tell you anything else about the kids?"

"Just that I would name our son and you would name our daughter. Nothing more." Fara's ears lowered. "Why?"

Marcus swallowed and chuckled, waving his paw in a semi-dismissing way. "Oh, nothing. I was just curious if they would become fighter pilots and all that stuff."

A smirk touched upon the vixen's features. "No, there's something else. I can see it on your face."

"You can? No, I really was just curious if she told you anything else." His thoughts briefly turned to his first dream-state meeting with the Oracle. He recalled her warning that one of his three children would die in combat to save the lives of the others. He took a deep breath then forced a smile. "I was just curious if mom told you anything else, that's all. No biggie."

Fara shook her head. "Not even their names. It'll be much easier to shop for them, now. But you're still preoccupied with something. What's on your mind? You really wanted to know something about your mother's information… what is it?"

"If I tell you, I need you to keep a cool head about this, okay?"

The vixen furrowed her brows. "You're being awfully enigmatic. Out with it."

"Promise me."

Fara took his paws firmly into her own. "I'll remain composed. Tell me what's on your mind."

He swallowed then sighed. "The Oracle told me that I would defeat some sort of evil foe. She told me that the foe would remain dormant for a while and then our children would finish what I started and end it for good. However, one of my future children would have to sacrifice their life to save their siblings. And it's always bothered me. I try not to think about it but… my heart truly aches at the thought of outliving one of my kids. I'm just… it's really hard for me to know that. I was wondering if mom might have learned which one so…"

"No. And Marcus… I already knew that. I had a telepathic bonding with your mother once, remember? So yes, I knew. But don't you remember temporal mechanics class at the academy? It was a half-semester course but you _had_ to take it in order to graduate."

"You're talking about paradoxes?"

She nodded. "Now that we've learned about the future, we have the ability to change the outcome. Maybe that's _why_ the Oracle told you about that… so that you could help them. So you could better prepare them, so you could do whatever it takes to ensure that they can triumph without one of them being forced to sacrifice themselves in such a way. Now that she told you, it's almost guaranteed not to happen."

"You're awfully sure of yourself… that's really comforting. Y'know, some things _did_ come true, though. She told my parents that I would be named '_Star_' at birth. And I was."

"And you changed your name, despite what was written in the stars for you. Think about it, hon. She told your parents that you'd be named Star. But now you're named Marcus. By telling them, certain elements have changed, allowing for change to occur."

"Between a mom that can train them to be the best and a dad that provides them with telepathy, I'm confident our children will be undefeatable."

"Especially if all three work together."

"You're okay with them growing up with James?"

Fara offered a dull glare. "Of _course_ I am, Marcus! James is a part of you and I love you. He's adorable. He's smart. He's innocent. He's a wonderful little boy."

Marcus sighed again, this time with a smile. "You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that and mean it. I really, _really_ appreciate how open minded and understanding you are, sweetheart."

"C'mon, let's go and tell the crew our good news."

* * *

x-

**"Congratulations!"** Vivian hugged Fara. Slippy and Theodore took turns shaking Marcus' paw. Vivian turned to Marcus and hugged him. "I'm really happy for you two, Mark. You guys make such a cute couple. Congratulations to you both."

"Does your mother know yet?" asked Slippy.

"She was the first one I told," he replied with a firm nod. "She's on the bridge with Crimson right now. They're having a talk about his father. I think he needed to have a heart to heart with someone and she was available. And, uh…" He put two fingers to his left temple for effect. "Let's see, Bliss and Panther are inside the alien fighter, trying to figure out how it flies but they had to cut into organic tissue so… apparently there's a big mess on the flight deck."

"Great," Fara said. "Well I hope they clean it up, heh." She smoothed her shirt then added, "And don't worry, Crimson already knows most of the details, gang. He knew about the ring before I did." She stuck her tongue out at Marcus then said, "Those boys have a bromance going on, I swear." Her words garnished amused reactions from Vivian and Theodore.

Slippy shook his head with a chuckle. "Hey, Fox and I were best friends the same way. Everyone thought Fox and Falco were the inseparable buddies but the real truth is that Fox and I were best friends. Fox and Falco had a competition thing… a rivalry thing. They were like siblings. They argued all the time. But Fox and I always listened to the same music, went to monster truck rallies together, went fishing together, went out drinking together… we never argued. When he decided to go out and fight the Anglars alone, who came to his aid? Me. We had to hunt down Falco in the Asteroid belt… And he was late! But _I'm_ the one who came to _his_ aid. Right from the start. And that's the kind of friendship that Crimson and Marcus have."

Vivian glanced at Theodore then back at Slippy and back to Theodore once more. "Wow. You almost grew up with two dads – apparently Mister McCloud had a bromance, too. Geeze. Like father, like son."

Fara snorted with laughter. "No, no, Slippy had a bromance with Fox. Fox had a bromance with Falco, Falco had a bromance with himself. I stole Marcus from Crimson, so he ran off and joined the Academy."

A voice came from the other end of the briefing room. "Then I ran off and joined the military. So… you stole Mark from me, huh? There's a good reason for that… you have something I don't… something guys crave."

Fara made a silly face towards the hybrid wolf. "You're so crass. Yes, I have _boobs_. I'm such a seductress. I stole your _boyfriend_." She grinned and put her paws on her hips. "But at least you were a good sport about it."

"Yeah, yeah. I can't compete; you're prettier than me," said Red with a grin. His eyes zeroed in on Fara's left paw. "Ah, finally! Congratulations, Fara. It's about time he popped the question, geeze."

"There's more."

"I know," replied O'Donnell. "He told me."

Fara huffed with faux indignation then turned to the rest of the pilots. "Well, anyway… Marcus and I will be having a baby." Before she could say another word, everyone jumped, startled by Vivian's squeal of excitement. Fara blinked twice then cleared her throat. "Uh, well, yeah… I feel the same way. Uhm, so we're looking forward to the challenge of pregnancy. I appreciate all of you providing such a family-like atmosphere. We need to figure out what's going on in this system so we can win the day as soon as possible. In a few months, I'll need to go on hiatus, then you'll be stuck with Falco as your team vet."

"And I'll be going soon, too," said Crimson. "So let's kick some ass before I have to go back to school. That'll be one hell of a team, though… Theodore, Vivian, Marcus and Falco…"

Fara grinned again. "Three great pilots and an egotistical loose cannon offering advice. So, like I said, let's hurry up and save Lylat from whatever we can before that happens." She paused then said, "You know… this really changes things. I may not go back to teach on Corneria. I can't really decide. Maybe I'll take over the board at Phoenix Industries and help you guys remain stocked with gear and fighters. It's an exciting time for Phoenix and Arspace."

Marcus placed his paw at the small of her back. "Well, that merger _is_ your baby, after all. You started it last year. I'd understand if you wanted to nurture your baby to maturity."

She took his paw from her back and guided it to her belly. "No… _this_ is my baby. Our baby." She smiled brightly. "Our baby. I like the sound of that. I'll be honest, I wasn't ready to rush into parenthood but… now that it's happened I think I'm really ready to embrace it."

Crimson ribbed Marcus. "Yeah… Fara, you weren't ready to rush into parenthood. But Marcus, here, didn't learn the first time around. Protection? What's that?"

Fara turned to Crimson and returned her paws to her hips. "Actually, we _both_ used protection."

Crimson quirked his brows. "Wait, so this whole thing happened by accident?"

Marcus shook his head. "The baby isn't an accident, dude. This baby was _meant to be_. Nothing short of abstinence would have mattered… This baby is fated in the stars, Red."

"Okay, okay Mark. I didn't mean to suggest the baby is an accident; I meant the situation. Not planning for the pregnancy." He put his paws up defensively. "I'm waiting a few years to even think about the possibility of maybe wanting kids one day in the future. I'm not gunna' rush."

Fara ribbed her fiancé's friend. "Why? Don't want your kid to fly on the same team as our kids?"

"Well when you put it like that," Crimson said then froze. "Hey, wait… _kids_? Plural?"

Marcus shrugged. "Why stop at one? Maybe we'll have twenty-five. It's up to Fara. But we theorize that at least two of our kids will fly. Anyway… I have a bottle of champagne set aside just for something as important as this. Well, this announcement was pretty important so I think it calls for a toast."

Slippy stuffed his hand into his pants pocket and withdrew a flip-phone style communicator. He brought it to his ear and said, "Yes?" After a brief pause, he said, "Oh… well, that sounds important. We're on our way right away." He flipped the unit shut and stuffed it back into his pocket. "I hate to go so suddenly but your dad thinks he found the warship transporting the top General in the Venom army and he wants to move on it before it gets too close to Venom airspace." He shook Marcus' hand and left the room to find Krystal.

"That was anti-climatic," said Fara with a chuckle. "Well we'll toast to the old team getting a win, us taking the next step in our relationship and our future wins to save Lylat. That _is_ the bet here, right? Who can save Lylat first, yes?"

"Yeah, that's it in a nutshell."

The PA came to life with ROB's voice. "Attention StarFox crew, report to the bridge immediately." Everyone looked at one another then left the briefing room. The pilots filed onto the bridge one after the other until everyone was present. ROB pointed at the main viewscreen and said, "You'll want to see this news footage. One second, I'm going to rewind it and transfer it up to the big screen."

Seconds later an image showed up on the large monitor with diagonal lines going through it. ROB un-paused the footage and everyone watched in silence as the news footage began to play. A simian reporter held a microphone and in the background, a building was burning on the top several floors. "As you can see behind me, Venom has come under attack! As many of you now know, many apes and marmosets have been rounded up by the Venom forces, now working for the woman named Anezka Vacek. However, something recently entered Venom airspace and opened fire on random non-military targets. At first we thought it might be fellow primates but new information has just come to our attention – see for yourselves from this recently acquired footage."

The visual changed to a shaky amateur video reel. Several black scythe-like fighters streaked by and opened fire on a tall building in the background. Everyone on the bridge gawked at the screen, some of them blinking while others stood there with wide eyes. Panther Caruso walked onto the bridge and glanced at the view screen. "Hmm… is this live? They're attacking Venom?"

ROB said, "This footage is about seven minutes old. Venom has already started moving their brass and political leaders. As it stands, Fox McCloud's team has targeted the vessel with Venom's five-star Army general. It appears they'll be engaging that vessel quite soon."

"Do you know where?" asked Panther.

"No, but I can plot a trajectory of the Venom vessels' path. Stand by."

Marcus ran his paws back through his hair. "Well, Venom might fall by today which means it's no longer a threat to Lylat. This could become quite problematic. Anezka deserves whatever happens to her with the way she's acting but… Venom's citizens don't deserve this crap. They're getting crapped on over and over."

"Perhaps we should pull back and start preparing for something bigger," said Fara. "Let's see how this situation with Venom plays out instead of rushing into trouble."

"Trajectory projected," ROB announced to the group. "They're passing through Sargasso, and will ultimately convene at MacBeth."

"Neat," Marcus grumbled.

Panther sighed. "I should check on the boss. I will take Bliss with me, she'll undoubtedly worry about her father."

"Don't talk for me like I'm not standing in the room," snapped the girl. She huffed with a measure of indignation then sighed. "Marcus… This douche-nozzle is right. I need to make sure my folks are okay. Wolfpack Alpha pilots are there, too. I know I said I'd help your team but… I'll catch up with you, okay?"

Crimson hugged his sister in silence. No one spoke. Finally, she turned and Panther followed her off the bridge. Fara and Marcus looked at one another then returned their attention to Crimson, Theodore and Vivian. McCloud cleared his throat and said, "Okay, she's a hell of a pilot but we'll be okay. Yes, we're still in competition with our folks but we need to choose our battles wisely. Theodore, what's the word on those lizards out in Sector Y?"

Toad took off his hat and frowned. "They're sitting tight. I convinced them to stay put for a while. Now that Venom is under attack, I don't know if they'll rush to the planet's aid or wait to see if this new threat will weaken the military presence first. It's anyone's guess at this point, reckon."

"Understood. Vivian, what's our status on supplies?"

The rabbit pushed her ear-stalks back from her face. "We're ready for anything. Where do you want to go?"

Marcus pressed his paws together and brought his fingers to his lips in thought. "I want to be close enough to Venom that we can watch the news yet stay out of trouble. Let's move towards Titania and orbit the planet. That's one of the nearest planets in the orbital track right?"

"Currently, yes," said ROB.

"Okay. We need to study these new enemy fighters and determine their maneuverability and analyze their weaknesses. We need to design something to beat their shields and armor. We need to design a defense against their weapons."

Fara placed a paw on her mate's shoulder. "We should scan it and learn what we can as quickly as we can and invite Corneria to meet us at Titania and give them the fighter. Their scientists would benefit from dissecting that thing. Then Bill will help us by feeding us intel."

"I agree with Fara," said Crimson. "Corneria has the resources to study that thing. We have connections with Bill Grey so anything they learn… we benefit from."

"Okay, I'll contact them and have them meet us over Titania to make delivery. In the mean time, Theodore and Vivian… your job is to study this thing inside and out and record every inch with what you learn from scanners and recording devices."

ROB turned back to the helm controls. "I'll get us underway. Krystal and Slippy's shuttle has disappeared through a jumpgate. Panther and Bliss are now beyond sensor range."

"Okay, Ted, Vivian… get to work." Marcus settled into a chair on the bridge. "Make it quick. Everyone else, get some rest. We're now on heightened alert status."

* * *

x-

_Seven hours later_…

**The GreatFox shook hard.** A paw went to Marcus' shoulder, giving him a stern shake then the warm blankets were drawn back. "C'mon, flyboy. We're under attack."

Marcus sat up with a start. "What? By whom?"

"Those alien things contacted us. They want their ship back and they're willing to fight to get it back. Crimson just spent several minutes trying to talk to them from the bridge – you didn't hear him call us over the PA just now?"

Marcus slipped out of bed and rubbed his face, reaching for a hoodie. "No, I didn't. He talked to them? Last time we crossed their path, the translator didn't work with them."

"ROB apparently adjusted it. C'mon. The last shot was a warning across our starboard bow. He said it's getting serious." Fara pulled on a pair of pants, fastened them and headed for the door.

Marcus fastened his jeans and stepped into his boots without even bothering to look for socks. He hurried up the hall. The doors opened to the bridge and he glanced from Crimson and ROB to the black creature on the screen. "I'm Marcus McCloud, skipper and lead pilot of this vessel and its team. We don't have any desire to fight you – we're enemies of the leader on Venom and it's apparent that you're attacking Venom… we're on the same team, here."

The alien creature appeared void of having a face. "It's true we seek to glimpse the motherless beast of Krazoa but you have things of ours in the now."

"Clarify?" Marcus decided to play this game in order to stall for time. He wanted to try and scan the man telepathically but it was difficult from this range.

"Down on the sphere, you found our ship in the trunks. You would be sharp to fathom our craving for that ship; we demand it in the soonafter."

"Slow down, why do you need that ship when you have so many?"

"You seek to stall? You do not have the trembles in rebuttal to our tellings of your way-after? You would be sharp to keep your top down and your glimpses wide, lest we nullify you in the now. We will drill your pilots on how to achieve the gloried way-after, lest you return our ship in the soonafter. The one you found on the sphere in the trunks."

"We can return it to you. Why do you want it so badly?"

"We crave it; it has tellings about the nemesis. It will suffice us to nullify you but if you fathom our clash with the nemesis then you would fathom our tellings for the crave we have for our ship's return."

"This nemesis... are you speaking of the Krazoa woman on Venom?"

"She is the beast, our nemesis, who flamed our plantings in the before. She may be grey but she is sharp and sturdy. Her rages would nullify you without a second thought. Her hunger for destruction, it is savory to her; you cannot fathom the nemesis. You would be sharp to heed my tellings."

Crimson whispered to Marcus from behind. "What in the hell are they saying?"

McCloud horizontally swished his paw at hip level and whispered, "One sec." He cleared his throat and said, "I, uh, _crave_ to _fathom_ your, ah... your _tellings_ and your reasons for rage of the Nemesis. _Drill_ me on these tellings; it doesn't suffice me to simply glimpse the beast nullified. I wish to fathom your clash with the nemesis... please."

The onyx alien paused then said, "Well greeted, but there is no time to drill you in the ways of the beast. She will nullify you the way her kind flamed our plantings and our daughter's daughters. We have had a great time in the before to drill, to cluster and to fathom this clash. It is in the now. You will comply or you will be nullified."

"You speak this gibberish?" asked Crimson.

Marcus frowned. "They don't use grammatical syntax the way we do, and they have a different concept of words synonymous for ones we prefer to use... but it's not all that different, Red. They said they want us to give back their ship because it has information on Anezka. They said her people were responsible for burning their crops, destroying their homes and ancestors. I asked them to teach us to understand their anger with the Krazoa. They said there's no time."

Fara frowned. "What is it they want? The ship from the sphere in the trunks? What exactly do they mean? They want the ship we found on the planet, in the forest?"

"Exactly!" Marcus afforded her with a brilliant smile. "You catch on quick." He turned back to the screen and said, "We wish to, uh, fathom the tellings of your ship. Can you drill us in such things? We crave to fathom the nemesis. Perhaps we can aid in your clash."

"You will be nullified if you do not return to us our ship before the new light. You have only to glimpse the glare behind the sphere to fathom another clash – one you would be sharp to avoid. The ship. In the now!"

Marcus turned back to his crew. "They, uh... they want their ship before Solar peeks from behind Sauria. That gives us... how much time, ROB?"

"Less than twenty minutes," replied the robot. "These beings have a fierce naval force pouring into the system. Another six ships are approaching."

The fox ground his teeth together and turned back to the viewer. "How the hell do we know you won't attack us the moment we return that ship? We're not enemies, after all."

"You will return it or fathom to be nullified in the now!" exclaimed the creature. "I have you in my glimpses. You have until the soon-after to comply or suffer our rages. We will nullify you and feast on your savory tops."

Fara blinked. "Did he just say what I thought he said?"

Marcus nodded to her then confirmed to Crimson, "Yeah, they totally just threatened to eat our brains. That's a little over-dramatic. We have a few minutes to make a decision, but not enough time to look at the reconnaissance data on their ship's computer. I need a minute to weigh our options, here."

"Well," Fara mused thoughtfully, "You'd better hurry."

"Yeah," said Red with a frown. "They seem impatient, for sure."

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A/N: _Howdy! Thanks for reading and I'm sorry it took so long! I was pretty preoccupied this December. I'm glad you're still reading this story! :D_

_-Kit_


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